


One More Light

by Strawberrywaltz



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers Dino Charge
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, Fake Science, Forced Depression..., Heckyl being creepy, Insecure Chase, Insecure Riley, Insecurity, Jealousy, M/M, Protective Riley, Secrets, relationships are hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-23
Packaged: 2019-03-14 11:35:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 21,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13589217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strawberrywaltz/pseuds/Strawberrywaltz
Summary: Sometimes good things can be twisted around and made to be bad.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I usually try to finish one story before I post another...but alas, I'm excited. 
> 
> For this story I was trying to come up with possible 'problems' in a new relationship between Chase and Riley. I promise there will be a happy ending and lots of protective Riley and hurt Chase in this story, but I didn't want things to be too easy.
> 
> Enjoy the ride!

“Check this out,” Shelby said as she joined Chase and Riley at their table in the lab. “Doctor Alexander Ride is coming to town!” 

“Who?” Chase asked, still smiling from something Riley had said. 

“You haven’t heard of Dr. Ride?” Riley asked. He had that cute look of disbelief on his face that Chase adored. “He’s a famous inventor.” 

“Ah, right.” Chase grinned. Although he had no idea who Alexander Ride was, it was fun to watch Riley get so excited about something science-y. “So, what has he invented?” 

Riley shook his head and picked up the magazine Shelby had brought over as she explained. “He’s invented a lot of things. A machine that helps insomniacs sleep and another device that helps prevent panic attacks in people who suffer from post traumatic stress. He’s a genius, Chase!” 

“Oh wow!” Riley smiled brightly as he smacked his hand against the page he was reading. “He’s unveiling his newest invention here in Amber Beach.” 

“Oh yeah?” Chase tried to seem interested. Science wasn’t exactly his favorite subject, but he loved Riley and tried to at least pretend to be interested in the same things his boyfriend was. “Does it do anything cool?” 

“It’s amazing!” Shelby jumped in sharing a grin with Riley. “The device works with an implant that is attached directly to the brainstem, it basically plugs in to the person’s subconscious and helps combat depression with positive vibes.” 

Chase frowned. He wasn’t a genius, but the idea of something playing with people's heads was not appealing to him at all. “So, this thing messes with your head, how is that a good thing?”

Riley rolled his eyes and shared a look with Shelby that made Chase feel like an idiot. “Chase, it could help balance out people who are in a losing battle with depression.” 

“Yeah,” Chase frowned, “but couldn’t technology like this be used in a bad way?” 

“Aren’t you supposed to be the optimist?” Riley shook his head. “This is a great invention. My father struggled with depression.” 

Chase winced and immediately felt guilty. Riley never talked about his father. Ever. Just like Chase never talked about his dad. Some things were just too hard to deal with. “I’m sorry, Riley, I didn’t realize. I’m sure it is a good thing, I just don’t understand it all.” 

“That’s okay, Chase,” Shelby grinned. “We know you are more interested in learning new tricks on your skateboard.” 

Although it was sort of true, it took Chase a second before he managed to smile at his friends. “Yeah, well, I guess I’ll leave you guys alone so you can chat about your science crush.” He stood and grabbed his skateboard. He half expected his friends to try and convince him to stay, but Riley had already refocused on Shelby and started asking her questions with more Latin words than English. “See you later.” Chase muttered and boarded out of the room. 

It had been several weeks since Chase had first asked Riley out and their relationship was progressing at its own pace. Chase was grateful that Riley seemed to want to be with him, but Chase wasn’t as confident as he acted. Riley was so smart, way smarter than Chase even knew. Chase was worried one day Riley would look at Chase and realize he could do so much better than a superficial skateboarder. 

“Chase,” Kendall called as Chase boarded by her. 

“Yeah?” Chase turned. 

“No skateboarding in the lab.” Kendall scolded lightly as she turned and joined Shelby and Riley. With a frown Chase stepped off his board. He sighed and headed out of the lab. 

So he wasn’t into science like the other members of the team. Chase grinned. At least he knew how to have real fun. 

__

Meanwhile in the remains of Sledge’s crashed ship Heckyl was reading the same article as the rangers. “Isn’t this fascinating.” He said to no one in particular. A few Vivix stopped to listen, but were too timid and afraid of their new master to stop their work completely. Although Heckyl was slightly less unstable compared to Snide, there were still some very strong and frightening anger issues hidden under the mask of calm.

“Isn’t what fascinating?” Fury asked as he entered the room. 

“This inventor created a device that targets the subconscious,” Heckyl explained as he stood from his throne. “I think I may have an idea about how to turn one of our foes into our friends.” 

Fury tipped his head slightly, then bowed respectfully. “How can I help?” 

“You can help by finding Wrench.” Heckyl grinned as he pushed the article into Fury’s chest. “And by bringing this device to me.” 

__

Chase was at the skate park when his dino com beeped. With a quick glance around Chase pulled it out of his pocket and stared back at Kendall on the screen. “What’s up?” He asked and took note of her worried face. It usually wasn’t a good thing when Kendall called. 

“Monster activity, it looks like they are after Dr. Ride’s invention.” Kendall explained. “The others are almost there, do you know where to go?” 

“I didn’t read the article.” Chase closed his eyes briefly as he internally berated himself. “Send me the address. I’m on my way.” 

“Right.” Kendall answered and the screen went black. 

With a sigh Chase grabbed his board and pulled out his phone to plug the address into his GPS. He was only a block away. Relieved, Chase headed off towards the action. 

“Nice of you to show up, Ranger.” Fury jumped out in front of Chase, nearly causing him to crash. “But you and your team are a little late.” 

Chase quickly noticed that Fury was holding the device he’d seen in Shelby’s magazine and winced. “That doesn’t belong to you.” Chase said as the others ran up and joined him. 

“Fury,” Tyler shouted. 

“I’d love to stay and fight,” Fury said with a cruel laugh. “But I have what I came for. Vivix, distract them!” 

A horde of Vivix appeared in a bright light, sending the group into battle. Chase and Riley both moved to stop Fury, but he vanished before they could reach him. 

“No!” Shelby gasped as she kicked down the last of the Vivix surrounding her. “I can’t believe he got away!” 

“What do you think he’s going to do with that device?” Tyler asked, his question directed towards Riley and Shelby who shook their heads. 

“Nothing good.” Chase answered for the brains of the group. It didn’t take a genius to know that whatever Fury, or Heckyl had planned would end badly for them. 

Back at the lab Kendall had run into countless dead ends. “I can’t track Fury or the device.” She announced to the group. “They probably took it back to their base, which I’ve theorized is cloaked in some way, since we haven’t been able to locate it.” 

“What do we do now?” Ivan asked, his hand resting on his sword’s hilt, ready for a fight. 

“There’s nothing we can do.” Kendall answered with a shake of her head. “We have to be ready for when they try and use the device.” 

Koda frowned, “Device made for good.” 

Chase looked at his caveman friend and smiled knowingly. “Sometimes good things can be twisted around and made to be bad.” 

Riley sighed. “I can’t believe this is happening. That device could help so many people. It’s not fair.” 

Shelby placed her hand on Riley’s shoulder and nodded. “It isn’t fair, but we’re going to stop Heckyl and whatever he has planned.” 

“It what we do.” Koda grinned. 

“You know that’s right.” Tyler agreed. “I say we do some extra training to prepare for whatever happens next.” 

“I agree with Sir Tyler.” Ivan nodded.

Riley and Chase nodded their agreement. “We’ll join you guys after our shift in the cafe.” 

“Right.” Tyler nodded and Ivan, Shelby and Koda followed him. 

“I’m going to keep looking for a way to track the device.” Kendall told Chase and Riley as they started to leave. 

“Keep us informed.” Riley said and followed after Chase. “I guess you were right.” Riley added as they put on their aprons and joined the other workers. 

“I kind of wish I wasn’t.” Chase admitted with a strained smile. “I’d rather this device be used for the good it was intended, Riles. I feel like I jinxed it.” 

“You didn’t.” Riley shook his head. “As long as Heckyl and his monsters are out there good things are going to be used for bad intent. We have to stop him.” 

“I know.” Chase agreed and moved to man the grill only to find Marissa already there. “Can I take over, love?” He asked in his most charming way. If he could recapture his favorite task he would pull out all the stops. 

Marissa glanced at him and shook her head firmly. “Nope, you were late for your shift. You get what you get, Chase.” She smiled brightly. With a playful pout Chase nodded and accepted his fate. He grabbed a note pad and headed out to take orders. Being a waiter wasn’t the worst job in the world, but Chase definitely preferred playing with fire. 

Towards the end of the shift Chase’s energy seemed to be reborn. Soon he’d be off training with Riley and his friends and life would be interesting again. “Order up,” he called to Marissa and flashed her one of his brightest smiles. 

“So demanding.” Marissa teased and touched Chase’s arm before taking the ticket. “Speaking of demanding,” Marissa smiled playfully, her eyes flickered up to meet his in a sly way that made Chase’s stomach turn a bit. “Are you doing anything after this? I thought we could go get a smoothie. Together.” 

Chase’s smile faltered a little, but he cleared his throat. “Actually, I’m hanging out with my boyfriend after work.” He said, trying to let her down as easily as possible. It was a problem he often had. Between his over exuberant smiles and cheerful nature girls and guys tended to think he was interested in more than friendship even when Chase wasn’t trying to flirt. Of course in this situation Chase feared that he did flirt, even if it was mostly to manipulate the situation in his favor. He really needed to stop using his flirtatious nature to get things. 

“Boyfriend?” Marissa’s smile turned into a look of disappointment. “Oh, well, if you change your mind, give me a call.” Flustered Marissa turned back to the grill and Chase pulled away from the counter. He glanced over when he felt eyes watching him and saw Riley and met his gaze. There was suspicion in Riley's eyes. Chase felt his heart stumble in his chest as Riley turned and ripped off his apron. 

Terrified, Chase took a moment to breathe before he followed after his boyfriend. 

__

Riley was livid. On some level he knew that Chase was a flirt, but Riley had also hoped that once they started dating that Chase would only flirt with him. Watching Chase and Marissa was an eye opener. It wasn’t even that Riley was jealous, he felt betrayed. He didn’t feel like he was good enough, which was a crummy feeling. 

The fresh air helped calm Riley down a bit as he stepped outside of the museum. 

“Riley.” Chase called as he caught up to his frustrated boyfriend. 

Riley turned to face Chase. The anger he felt doubled its efforts at the sight of his boyfriend and hurt etched deeply within Riley's expression. He wanted Chase to understand that what he’d done had hurt him. The look of guilt that fluttered through Chase’s eyes was almost satisfying to Riley. 

“You know what you did, right?” Riley asked harshly. “I shouldn’t have to explain it to you. I just don’t understand why you do that. Don’t I mean anything to you?” 

“Of course you do.” Chase answered quickly. “You don’t know how much you mean to me.” 

“If I mean so much to you, why do you continue to flirt with other people?” Riley demanded. “It’s not just Marissa, either. You flirt with Valerie, Greg, Cindy and tons of other girls and guys.” 

Chase’s pleading look turned slightly defensive for a moment before he switched back to a smile that only threw more fuel on Riley’s anger. “I don’t do it on purpose.” Chase tried to explain. 

“Yes, you do.” Riley accused. “You like the attention, I get it, but what I don’t understand is why you aren’t satisfied with the attention I give you.” 

“Riley.” Chase shook his head, the smile gone. “I’m a flirtatious guy, that’s who I am. I open my mouth and people assume that I’m hitting on them. I smile and people like it. I can’t help it, it’s just who I am.” 

“Yeah?” Riley said, unimpressed. “Well sometimes I wish you could be different.” As soon as the words left Riley’s mouth he regretted them. He knew he was mad, but he also knew he wasn’t really mad at Chase. 

Yes, it was annoying that so many people were attracted to his boyfriend and yes, it did hurt a little when Chase entertained those people, but Riley also knew that Chase would never actually cheat on him. It was Riley’s own insecurities that fueled his jealously. Chase was beautiful, charismatic and out going. Riley was afraid that one day Chase would look at him and realize he could do so much better than a nerd know it all. 

“Riley.” Chase started, but stopped, all good humor and smiles long gone. “Please.” 

“Don’t.” Riley held up his hand and took a step back from Chase. “I need some space. Don’t follow me.” Without another glance at Chase’s broken expression, Riley left the black ranger standing alone outside the museum. 

__

Chase watched his boyfriend leave and felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest and stomped on. It hadn’t been more than a few weeks and somehow Chase had managed to destroy the most real relationship he had ever had. Riley was the first guy Chase had wanted to get serious with. Sure there were others, but none of them compared to Riley. 

Riley was the end game.

The truth was that Chase knew he wasn’t good enough for Riley. They were just too different. Riley was beautiful and smart and Chase was a hot mess. Riley was organized and Chase couldn’t focus to save his life. 

“Well, would you look at that?” Heckyl’s voice drifted through Chase’s thoughts. Chase turned and barely had time to react before he was ambushed by a horde of Vivix. Without wasting his breath on insults, Chase fought the surrounding enemy, but was quickly over powered. Chase was alone, unfocused and he had once again forgotten his Energem in the lab. 

“Oh, I think I like seeing you on your knees,” Heckyl said as he approached Chase, forced to kneel by the five Vivix that held him. “You don’t have your Energem. A shame, but I really only need your body for this. Wrench!” 

“Coming sir!” Wrench said, holding the device Fury had stolen. 

“That doesn’t belong to you!” Chase repeated what he’d said to Fury. 

“It does now.” Heckyl laughed musically. “You see, I’ve made a few modifications that I think you’ll find very interesting.” Heckyl took the device from Wrench and grinned down at Chase. “Now, hold still, I wouldn’t want to damage you permanently.” 

“What are you doing?” Chase asked and struggled against the arms that held him. A few more Vivix joined their friends and made sure Chase couldn’t move as Heckyl slipped around behind Chase and out of sight. Chase felt his heartbeat vibrate throughout his body as he tried in vain to get free. “Stop!” Chase yelped as something stung his neck. It burned worse than any shot Chase had ever received. 

“All done.” Heckyl appeared again and handed the device back over to Wrench. “Take that back to the ship.” He told his metal minion who nodded and vanished from sight. “Now, how do you feel, Chase?” Heckyl asked as he placed his hand on the side of Chase’s face. “Not too sore, I hope.” 

Chase tried to move away from Heckyl’s fingers, but had limited range of motion. “What did you do to me?” Chase asked as everything seemed to slow down and speed up at the same time. The world spun and he moaned a little, disoriented. 

“Nothing you can fix.” Heckyl promised. “Or that you’ll remember. I had a little memory-eraser water leftover on my ship and dipped the implant in it. Don’t worry, it won’t erase your memory entirely, but it should erase the last half hour, maybe even the day.” 

“Heckyl!” Voices shouted and Chase felt them echo in his head as Heckyl’s fingers brushed over his cheek gently. 

“Don’t worry, my little ranger,” Heckyl’s words seemed distant. “We’ll be seeing each other again soon.” 

Everything faded out into white mist.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the part of this story I'm currently writing is INTENSE! Seriously, I'm in love. The story itself has been completely plotted and is very closed to being finished (with the potential of a sequel...as most of my stories have) so the updates will happen as soon as I edit each chapter.

“Heckyl!” Kendall shouted with Riley at her side. Riley had just arrived back at the lab when Kendall’s computer started to beep. It took them a moment to realize that the monster’s signal was coming from right outside the museum. It took a split second after that for Riley to realize he had left Chase out there, alone, upset and vulnerable. 

“Chase!” Riley cried as he spotted his boyfriend swarmed by Vivix and at bent at Heckyl’s feet. Something was off, Chase didn’t move to acknowledge them, but Riley wasn’t sure what had happened or why. Logically Riley knew they would find out what was wrong once they had dealt with Heckyl and his goons. 

Riley had left Chase outside alone. A rush of guilt crashed over Riley, but he quickly shoved it aside and saved the emotion for later.

He’d apologize after they got rid of Heckyl. 

Then they’d make up, and make out, Riley smirked as he stared down the enemy. 

Kendall and Riley stood shoulder to shoulder as Heckyl looked at them. “Oh, I suppose I should be frightened, but I imagined there would be more of you.” He said through his twisted smile. 

“What did you do to him?” Kendall asked as she studied Chase, still on his knees and appearing to be unaware of his surroundings. 

“Don’t worry about that, sweetheart.” Heckyl said. “Vivix, attack.” 

The Vivix holding Chase released him and advanced on the purple and green rangers. Chase still didn’t move, which caused Riley’s worry to skyrocket. 

“Chase!” Riley shouted, hoping to snap Chase out of whatever spell he was under. Heckyl’s hands were brushing across Chase’s cheek again and Riley could see that Heckyl was saying something, but couldn’t hear the words. “Chase, snap out of it!” Riley yelled as he fought off the Vivix. 

“Riley, it’s morphing time!” Kendall shouted and Riley nodded, pulling out his morpher. Once they had transformed the Vivix were much easier to defeat, but when the dust settled Heckyl was gone and Chase was left sprawled out on the ground.

“Chase!” Riley and Kendall called as they de-morphed and knelt by their fallen comrade’s side. 

“He’s out cold.” Kendall said with concern. “Help me carry him back to the lab, I need to check him over.” 

Riley nodded, stunned and silent as he helped gather up Chase’s deadweight and carry him down to the lab. 

“Is he going to be okay?” Riley asked as Kendall started taking Chase’s vitals. 

“There are no obvious injuries,” Kendall breathed. “I’m not a doctor and we don’t have medical equipment.” A groan drew their attention back to Chase, who appeared to be waking up. “Oh thank goodness.” Kendall said as she set down her tablet and joined Riley by Chase’s side. 

Chase opened his eyes and stared up at the light in confusion. 

“Chase,” Riley said his name like a prayer. 

“Riles?” Chase blinked and his eyes found Riley’s. “You look worried. You okay, love?” 

“Chase.” Riley repeated his name and buried his face in Chase’s chest. “I was so worried.” 

“Chase,” Kendall’s stern voice captured both of the other ranger’s attentions. “What happened?” 

Chase frowned up at her and brought a hand up to rub at the back of his neck. “I don’t know.” He told them as he slowly sat up on the exam table. “The last thing I remember was being at the skate park, did I mess up a trick?” 

Riley and Kendall shared a worried glance. “Chase, that was hours ago. Are you sure you don’t remember any thing else?” Kendall implored. 

“Nothing.” Chase winced. “My head hurts, though.” 

“Maybe Heckyl erased his memory somehow.” Riley suggested. “He’s done it before, maybe Chase was more immune than last time.” 

“Or maybe Heckyl only wanted Chase to forget the last few hours.” Kendall nodded. “But why?” 

Chase frowned too. “Heckyl was around?” Riley noted that Chase looked thoroughly confused. Riley quickly realized that among the things Chase couldn’t remember was their fight. Relief and guilt flooded Riley’s heart as he took Chase’s face in his hands and kissed him soundly. 

A surprised noise escaped from Chase as Riley’s lips pressed against his own. They rarely displayed their affections for one another in front of the team. Riley didn’t care. He had nearly screwed up their relationship because of his own jealous insecurities. 

For once Riley wanted to thank Heckyl. After Chase relaxed into the kiss Riley pulled away from Chase, only slightly, and brushed their foreheads together. “I was afraid he’d done something to you. I thought you weren’t going to wake up again.” 

“I’m okay, Riles.” Chase promised. “I’m sorry I worried you.” 

“It’s not your fault.” Riley breathed. It was Riley’s fault, but Riley wasn’t about to admit that out loud. If Chase couldn’t remember their fight, Riley sure as hell didn’t want to bring it up again. He could live with the regret as long as Chase was okay. It would be better if they just moved on. 

“Sorry to interrupt.” Kendall coughed a little, reminding the pair that she was still in the room with them. “But we really need to figure out what happened to Chase.” 

“Maybe we stopped Heckyl before he could do anything.” Riley suggested calmly. Kendall didn’t look convinced and Chase just looked confused. “No, you’re right,” Riley sighed and gave into his logic side. “Heckyl didn’t seem to worried when we showed up.” Riley turned his worried eyes onto Chase whose eyes grew concerned. 

“What if he implanted me with a tracking device?” Chase frowned and moved to stand. “I could be giving away the lab’s location.” 

Kendall’s eyes widened and she went to grab the hand held scanner sitting on her lab table. 

Keeper appeared suddenly and stood in front of Chase. “No, I’m afraid Heckyl’s plan is far more sinister. I fear the device stolen earlier has been used on Chase. Ms. Morgan, scan for any unusual frequencies.” 

Kendall nodded slightly and ran the scanner over the back of Chase’s neck. “Keeper is right, the device has been implanted on Chase’s brainstem.” Her face fell as she locked eyes with Riley. “They probably messed with the device, there’s no telling what it will do to him.” 

“What if it can control me?” Chase asked, fear shaking in his voice. “Like Spellbinder? I don’t want to lose myself again. I almost hurt Shelby, I can’t go through that again.” 

“Chase.” Riley breathed, but he stopped himself from promising the impossible. “We are going to stop him, whatever he has planned, we’ll stop it.” 

“Until we know what Heckyl’s plan is, Chase shouldn’t be left alone.” Kendall told them. “We should tell the others.” 

“I’ll stay with Chase,” Riley promised. “We’re always together anyway.” Riley said with a small smile aimed at Chase, who grinned back. 

“He has a point.” Chase flashed his brightest smile at Kendall. 

Kendall offered a smaller smile and nodded. “Looks like you have your own personal bodyguard, Chase.” She sighed and looked over the data she had collected. “I’m going to go over this and see if I can figure out what the device is doing to you. I’ll let you know what I find.” 

“Thanks Kendall.” Chase sighed and moved away from the table. 

“It’s Ms. Morgan.” Kendall muttered, but the edge of the common statement was a little less sharp than usual. 

Riley took Chase’s hand in his and frowned. “Do you want to stay here?” 

“Not really.” Chase said, rubbing the sore spot on the back of his neck. “I could use some fresh air.” 

“Alright.” Riley said, but felt nervous. Chase was potentially a target and they had no idea what was going to happen. 

“I’m going to send one of the others to be with you two.” Kendall announced. “Just in case.” 

“Just in case I go dark-side?” Chase said in such a small voice that Riley had to do a double take. Chase had told Riley about the nightmares he had from the Spellbinder experience. It still bothered Chase, even after so much time had passed. 

“We’re not going to let that happen.” Riley promised, but his words didn’t seem to reassure Chase at all. “Hey, I promise.” Riley said, holding onto Chase’s hand a little tighter. 

“I know. I trust you.” Chase offered a ghost of a smile. “Let’s go and leave Kendall to work her genius.” 

“Let us know if you need us to come back.” Riley told Kendall as he grabbed his Energem. Chase looked at his own, still resting in the charger and made no move to take it. “Chase?” 

“What if he’s after my Energem?” He asked Riley. “I can’t take it with me until we know what this thing is doing to me.” 

Riley glanced at Kendall, who shrugged her shoulder. “He has a point, Riley.” 

Swallowing thickly, Riley nodded and took Chase’s hand. “I’ll have mine, just in case we need it.” Riley smiled at Chase who glanced longingly at his Energem before he turned his back on it. 

Riley wasn’t sure how he was going to help Chase, but he would do everything within his power to try. Besides, Chase might not remember their fight, but it still played with crystal clarity in Riley’s mind, like a song on repeat. The words Riley had regretted were gone, yet somehow they lingered, branded into Riley’s own soul. All Riley had to do was continue to lie and hope it didn’t destroy him, because Riley knew that the truth would destroy his relationship with Chase faster than any monster could. 

Riley was going to make sure that Chase knew he was perfect in Riley’s eyes. That was the only truth that mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked what you read!
> 
> TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Chase was freaking out. Not only had he lost half a day of his life, but he also had a twisted piece of technology directly connected to his brain. It was a lot to take in and sort through. 

“You’re thinking about it again.” Riley said at Chase’s side. They were sitting in the park near a lake and although it was peaceful, Chase felt like a storm was approaching. 

“How can I not?” Chase asked with a sigh. He tried to smile, but failed as he looked at Riley. “What happened after the skate park?” 

Riley frowned, but inhaled sharply before he answered. “You remember the magazine article that Shelby and I were reading when you left us, right?” 

“Yeah, about that device, the device that Heckyl used on me, apparently.” Chase answered easily enough. 

“Yes, that one.” Riley nodded. “Well, Fury is the one who stole it, but we got there too late to stop him. Then we regrouped and Tyler and the others went to train and we went to start our shift in the café.” 

Chase frowned as Riley looked away from him. Riley, apart from his brilliance, was a terrible liar when it came to their relationship and Chase could tell that there was something that Riley was keeping from him. He just didn’t know what. “Did something else happen?” Chase pressed. 

“No,” Riley answered, again he couldn’t meet Chase’s eyes. 

A rush of uncertainty filled Chase as he looked at Riley. “Are you sure?” 

Riley looked at Chase finally, fear shinning in his eyes. “Do you remember something else happening?” He asked with an edge of defense toning his words. 

“I don’t remember anything.” Chase sighed and looked away. “I just feel like there’s something else.” 

“Are you saying I’m lying to you?” Riley asked, affronted. 

“No, no, I just – ” Chase sighed, not really wanting to fight. Maybe whatever happened wasn’t worth knowing, but Chase couldn’t shake the feeling that Riley was hiding something. 

Riley deflated a bit next to Chase and shook his head. “Nothing else happened, Chase, nothing that matters. You left the café alone and Heckyl ambushed you. I should have been there. I shouldn’t have left you alone.” 

Oh, Chase thought to himself, maybe that was why Riley seemed so tense. “Riley, it wasn’t your fault.” Chase told his boyfriend and grabbed Riley’s hand and pulling him closer. “I got myself in this mess.” Chase said and hoped that by berating himself he would make Riley feel better. “I went off and wasn’t paying attention and apparently Heckyl got the drop on me. That’s not on you, it’s on me.” 

“Chase, it wasn’t your fault either.” Riley started, but sighed. “I just want to know that you’re going to be okay.” 

Chase frowned. “I don’t feel any different.” He admitted. “Other than my lack of memories from this afternoon. Maybe whatever they did to the device didn’t work? Or maybe that Dr. Ride guy’s invention was a flop.” 

“Maybe.” Riley agreed reluctantly. 

“Let’s not trouble, trouble.” Chase smiled and stood. “I could use something to eat. Koda is supposed to be joining us soon, and you know he’s going to want to eat something too.” 

Riley managed a smile and stood with Chase. “I guess whatever that device is doing to you isn’t effecting your enjoyment of food.” 

“Nope.” Chase flashed one of his brightest smiles with the hope that Riley would start to feel better. “Lets go collect Koda and get some pizza and go see what Kendall and Shelby have figured out.” 

“Alright.” Riley smiled faintly and allowed Chase to help him to his feet. 

__

Watching from the remains of Sledge’s ship, Heckyl was losing his patience. “Why isn’t it working?” He asked Wrench who was fiddling with the machine. 

“I believe the device has to be in closer proximity to the black ranger in order for its effects to be strong enough.” Wrench replied nervously. “I’m trying to boost its frequency, but I’m afraid I might overload the system. It wasn’t created to work at these distances. I could create a type of transmitter that we can have one of the Vivix bring closer to the black ranger’s location, it should boost the signal and even if it gets destroyed by those pesky rangers, we can always send another one.” 

Heckyl consider his henchman carefully before he nodded. “Wrench, I like your style. Create the device and we’ll implement your plan immediately.” Heckyl looked at Chase’s image on the screen and ran his fingers over the glass, imaging the feel of the ranger’s skin. “It doesn’t matter if we destroy him or if we manage to turn him to our side. He is pretty, though. I did so enjoy seeing him bowing at my feet.” 

Wrench shuffled on his feet nervously. “Yes, master.” 

“Get to work,” Heckyl glared at Wrench. “Or I’ll destroy you for fun.” 

Wrench gulped and gathered the device, heading off to his workshop in a hurry. 

__

“Chase, how do you feel?” Tyler asked as Koda set down the pizzas down on the table. 

Riley watched as Chase shrugged. “Not all that different, honestly.” 

Kendall frowned and moved over to scan Chase again. Chase allowed the attention, but Riley could tell it was making him uncomfortable. Ironic, Riley thought as he watched. Chase loved attention, but when it came to being sick or weak in front of anyone Chase hated it. 

“It doesn’t look like your brain waves are acting any differently.” Kendall frowned. 

“See?” Chase grinned, suddenly relieved. “The thing was a flop, or maybe they broke it.” 

“Maybe.” Kendall muttered as she looked over the data she had collected and compared it to Chase’s original scan. “The implant is emitting some kind of pulses, but they are weak.” 

“Maybe it has to do with the device being so far away.” Shelby suggested. 

Riley nodded slowly, his thinking face firmly in place. “That makes sense, actually.” He agreed. “We didn’t see the device when we confronted Heckyl. It’s likely they took it back to their ship to protect it.” 

“So as long as they keep it away from me, I’ll be fine?” Chase asked, less excited than he had been moments before when he thought the thing wasn’t working. 

“Better than that, if we destroy it, you’ll be free.” Riley corrected, winning back Chase’s smile. 

“Simple enough solution.” Chase grinned at the group around him. 

“Plan made,” Koda grinned, picking up his third slice of pizza. “Now we eat.” 

“Don’t mind if I do,” Chase grinned and took a slice for himself as Riley shook his head. He was happy that Chase seemed to be relaxing under the stress of the situation, but Riley still felt that twinge of guilt. It was building. At first it was just the fight, but now Riley had lied to Chase about the fight.

Riley had been tempted to come clean at the park, but fear and pride had kept him quiet. Somehow he managed to cure Chase of his curiosity and suspicion. Yet the guilt wouldn’t let Riley go. He hated himself for lying to Chase and taking advantage of Chase’s vulnerability. 

It wasn’t right and Riley knew it wasn’t right, but Riley was also afraid of the truth. He was afraid that if he told Chase what really happened at this point Chase would hate him. Riley knew that he would hate Chase if their positions were reversed. 

So Riley had to keep everything a secret and make it up to Chase. Eventually the guilt would go away. Eventually. Hopefully. 

It was the only plan that could result in the solution Riley desired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for stopping by!
> 
> TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter of the day ^^

Later that night Riley insisted that Chase stay over so he could keep an eye on him. Chase was relieved, not only because he wasn’t ready to be alone, but also because he was still worried that Riley was acting off. 

“Do you want to stay up for a bit?” Riley asked as they stepped into Riley’s apartment. 

In all honesty, Chase just wanted to get some sleep. “I’m open to whatever.” He said instead, wanting nothing more than to make Riley happy. He hated that Riley felt guilty over what had happened to him. Chase couldn’t remember what happened, but he couldn’t believe that it was Riley’s fault. 

“Do you want to talk?” Riley asked, fiddling with his keys awkwardly as he moved to sit on the couch. 

Talking was not one of Chase’s strong points, but he shrugged and joined Riley on the couch. “I feel better now that we have a plan.” Chase told Riley, gently knocking their knees together. “I’m glad I’m not alone tonight.” He added with a flashing smile. 

Riley smiled back. “I’m glad you’re here.” Riley said. “I’ll sleep better knowing that you’re by my side.” There was that look again, Chase noted worriedly, that look that made Chase feel like Riley was holding something back. 

Chase took in a breath and closed his eyes. “Look, Riley, I know that I don’t come across as, well, smart. I’m no genius like you or Shelby or Kendall, but I’m here for you if you want to talk.” 

Riley looked surprised and Chase felt suddenly very insecure. 

“Forget talking,” Riley whispered and moved in closer. “I think I’d rather spend our time doing something a little more fun.” Chase opened his mouth to say something, but was silenced by Riley’s soft lips and warm tongue. It wasn’t unpleasant and Chase quickly relaxed under the physical attention. 

Talking was overrated anyway. 

__ 

Riley stared up at the ceiling long after Chase had fallen asleep beside him. He felt bad and the feeling wasn’t going away. Chase had opened himself up to Riley and Riley had shut him down with a kiss. 

If it weren’t for the impromptu make out session Riley was pretty sure he would have broken down and told Chase everything. The lies were eating Riley alive, but he was too afraid to even talk to Chase. Riley wanted nothing less than to talk with Chase. He wanted to talk about his own insecurities and how Chase’s flirtatious behavior made him feel smaller than he deserved. 

It really wasn’t Chase’s fault he was so charming and people wanted to talk with him and spend time with him. It wasn’t Chase’s looks that drew Riley to him, well, Chase’s good looks didn’t hurt, of course, but it was Chase’s loyalty and compassion that made Riley’s heart race. 

Chase, Riley knew from experience, was a people pleaser at heart. He liked to keep things light and optimistic with bright smiles and goofy jokes. He had terrible focus, but great passion and love for those around him. 

And yes, Chase was a flirt. It was part of his nature of trying to make the people around him happy. Riley, on a logical level, understood that, but his heart still ached with jealousy. 

Green with envy, Riley thought with a smirk as he ran a hand over his own face. 

It all came back to Riley’s own insecurities. He had watched Chase flirt with many different girls and guys before Chase had finally asked Riley out. Chase had fumbled with the words and been incredibly shy, Riley remembered fondly. Riley had been so confused he hadn’t actually realized what Chase was trying to do. 

When Shelby had enlightened Riley to what was happening he had been so excited that Riley ended up kissing Chase instead of saying yes. Chase had grinned and the rest, as they tend to say, was history. Except not really. Relationships were hard even when things were going smoothly. Things rarely went perfectly for the Power Rangers. 

Rolling over, Riley watched Chase as he slept. Chase was a quiet sleeper. It had freaked Riley out the first time Chase had fallen asleep on his couch. Chase slept like the dead. Almost nothing could wake Chase up and Riley hadn’t been mentally prepared enough for that. 

It as actually how the team learned about their previously secret relationship. Riley, in his panic, had been certain that Chase had been put under some sort of spell by a monster. 

Terrified, Riley had called the other Rangers and Kendall for help. Both Kendall and Koda were far less worried and explained that Chase was a very heavy sleeper. Koda told Riley something along the lines of, ‘mammoth stampede not wake Chase up.’ Kendall told Riley the best way to wake Chase up was to make breakfast. 

Sure enough, breakfast had done the trick. 

Although they had been dating for a short time, Riley was undeniably smitten with the black ranger. Riley loved Chase and he knew that Chase loved him back, but would it be enough? Chase got distracted so easily, would someone come along and pull Chase away from Riley? It seemed probable. 

With a sigh Riley cuddled closer to Chase’s warm body and rested his face against Chase’s neck. For the moment Riley would take what he could for as long as he could. 

__

Chase woke up to the blissful smell of fried breakfast food and fresh coffee. He groaned happily as he sat up and stretched with his typical dramatic flare. “Riley?” He called, standing from the bed and immediately losing his balance. “Whoa,” he gasped, arms flying out to stop his sudden quick decent. 

“Chase!” Riley appeared at the doorway and rushed to Chase’s side. “Are you alright? What happened?” 

“Got dizzy.” Chase answered as he stood up a little taller, with Riley’s help. “Must of tried to stand up before I was ready.” 

Riley’s concerned eyes locked with Chase’s worriedly. “Low blood sugar, maybe.” Riley agreed, although reluctant. “Breakfast is ready if you are.” 

“I was born starving.” Chase grinned. “Or so my sister always tells me.” 

“When was the last time you talked to your family?” Riley asked as they sat down at the island in the kitchen. It was the only thing that passed as a table in Riley’s tiny apartment. 

Chase frowned, but shrugged. “A while ago, maybe a few weeks.” He admitted. “It’s really difficult to communicate on different time zones.” 

“Maybe we could call them today.” Riley suggested and Chase smiled, but felt a little hopeless for some reason. Usually when Chase wanted to call his family something happened that caused him to get distracted or a monster appeared. 

“It’s my own fault, really.” Chase muttered as he re-scrambled the scrambled eggs on his plate. “If I was more organized, like you, I would be able to call them every day.” 

Riley frowned at the comment, but Chase couldn’t bring himself to care. Everything suddenly felt hopeless.

“Chase, I think we should go to the lab.” Riley said suddenly and stood up, grabbing Chase’s arm. “I think Heckyl figured out why the device wasn’t working and found a way around it.” 

With a few owlish blinks Chase tried to process what Riley was saying. “So, what I’m feeling isn’t real?” 

Riley’s eyes widened with alarm. “What are you feeling?” 

“Like a complete failure.” Chase tried to explain. “Worthless. Like everything I’ve done and everything I’m going to do will – ”

“You are not worthless!” Riley interrupted and held Chase’s face in his warm hands. Chase hadn’t realized how cold he felt until Riley touched him. “You are going to be okay, but we need to get you back to the lab so Kendall can figure out how to protect you.” 

“Protect me,” Chase breathed in sharply, the air felt like knives in his lungs. “Right.” Chase needed protection because he was too weak to protect himself. 

“Don’t,” Riley pleaded. “Just remember that everything you are feeling right now is a lie. Don’t trust your emotions, Chase, only trust that they are wrong.” 

Slowly Chase nodded and allowed Riley to help him get ready for the day. 

__

“Maybe you should wait here.” Riley suggested as they reached the café. There were only a few people moving about the museum so the staff was relaxing a bit. Koda waved when he saw his friends and came over. “Koda, stay with Chase, I want to talk with Kendall about something.” 

“Okay.” Koda agreed and grinned at Chase, but frowned when Chase didn’t smile back. “Chase alright?” 

“I will be.” Chase told his friend with a strained smile. He hated to make the big guy worry. Koda was like a brother to Chase and Chase would never forgive himself if he caused Koda to worry unnecessarily. “Riley thinks the device is messing with my head.” 

“Device bad.” Koda glared unhappily. “I break it apart with my bare hands!” 

That got a rush of relief to peak through the clouds of depression that filled Chase’s head. “I know you will, buddy.” Chase smiled faintly. 

“Order up!” Marissa called and Koda glanced back towards the grill, which apparently he was manning. 

“Go, I’ll just hang out here.” Chase told Koda who nodded and went back into the kitchen. 

“Hey,” Marissa greeted and sat across from Chase. She seemed to be feeling awkward, if Chase was reading her expression correctly. Chase frowned, wondering what he had done that would make her feel that way. He’d done his best to stay out of the way. “I want to talk about what happened yesterday and apologize to you.” 

“Yesterday?” Chase blinked and tried to think back. Slowly Chase realized whatever Marissa was talking about must have happened during the time that got erased. “I actually hit my head pretty hard at the skate park, I don’t remember a lot about yesterday.” 

“Oh, are you alright?” Marissa asked worriedly, but shook her head and looked at Chase firmly. “I still want to apologize.” 

“You really don’t have to,” Chase tried, but he could see that she needed to say whatever was on her mind. “Okay.” Chase nodded. 

Marissa smiled, but sobered quickly. “Yesterday I kind of asked you out. You were so happy and I was flirting with you and you didn’t seem to mind. I kind of realize now that you were just being nice and not really flirting back, but you dazzle me and well, I asked you out.” 

“You did?” Chase paled. Man, he thought to himself, if Riley had seen that he would have gotten mad, or hurt. Hurt was worse, Chase decided as he squeezed his eyes shut momentarily. 

“Yeah,” Marissa blushed. “You told me about your boyfriend, it’s Riley, isn’t it?” 

Chase nodded, “How did you guess?” 

“Well, we all knew you’ve had a crush on him ever since he started working here. You aren’t exactly subtle. I knew it was him when I saw Riley had been watching us,” Marissa said with guilt lacing her words. “He looked pretty devastated at first and then got pretty mad and left. I saw you go after him and assumed you guys got into a big fight. I guess you guys must have made up since you came here together, but I wanted to make sure everything was all right. I feel really bad about everything.” 

Chase stared at Marissa in shock. Riley had, what? Assumed Chase was hitting on Marissa and stormed out? Had they gotten into a fight? Why had Riley kept it from him? Riley had lied. Did Chase manage to explain that he hadn’t tried to – wait, had Chase flirted back? Chase couldn’t remember, but he didn’t doubt that he might accidently flirt back. He was always all smiles and some degree of flirtation. 

“Wait, I flirted with you? In front of my boyfriend?” Chase asked, devastated. How could the Chase of yesterday done something so awful? 

“No, not really.” Marissa shook her head. “You were just being friendly, like you always are and I took it too far. I mean, yeah, you kind of flirted with me to get me to switch jobs with you, but it’s not like you meant anything by it. I should have known better.” 

“I – I think I need some air.” Chase breathed, trying to calm the impending panic that raced along side his heart. “I’m sorry, whatever happened doesn’t – I forgive you, Marissa, it was probably my fault anyway. I screwed things up.” Marissa tried to say something else but Chase turned and bolted out of the café.

Had Riley been hiding the fact that they had broken up? Chase’s heart ached as he walked through the museum. He needed answers – he needed Riley.


	5. Chapter 5

“You were right, Riley,” Kendall said shaking her head as she read over the data on her data pad. “The signal is much stronger, whatever is causing the power boost must be nearby. We need to destroy it as soon as possible. Who knows what kind of emotions this thing is feeding Chase.” 

“How is Chase doing?” Shelby asked worriedly. 

“Not great.” Riley admitted. He rubbed at his chin as he thought back to how hopeless Chase had sounded earlier. Riley was afraid of what might happen if they didn’t stop the device. What was Heckyl’s end game? “I told him to ignore his feelings since they were being manipulated, but I’m not sure how long that’ll last. Chase isn’t exactly the most logical of thinkers.”

“He follows his heart.” Kendall agreed with a slow nod. 

Shelby smiled softly. “He has a good heart, it’s strong.” 

“Riley!” Chase called as he slid into the lab. 

Riley’s eyes widened. “Chase, I thought you were going to stay with Koda.” 

“Did we break up yesterday?” Chase asked so abruptly that Riley felt the air leave his lungs, as if he’d been psychically struck. Had they broken up? Riley had asked for space and, yeah, Riley’s stomach dropped as he realized what he had done, they had broken up.

How had Chase found out? Riley stared at Chase and tried to will his brain to think of something useful to say. A lie. Another lie. He needed to lie and convince Chase that everything was fine. “No.” 

It was the worst lie of all time and Chase’s face fell, obviously the black ranger saw right through Riley. 

“Did you think I was too stupid and I wouldn’t find out?” Chase asked. Hurt and betrayal bled across Chase’s face. Guilt like a dagger pushed deep inside Riley’s heart. 

“No,” Riley denied. “I hoped we both could forget it.” He tried to explain, badly. The girls watched on in horror as Riley shook his head and tried to come up with some sort of excuse. “Chase, I got angry because I thought you were flirting with Marissa.” 

“And you never even considered that she might be flirting with me?” Chase demanded. “I don’t know what happened, I can’t remember anything and you used that against me. Even if I did flirt with her, I would never cheat on you. I love you, Riley.” 

“And I love you,” Riley inhaled sharply, hands raised in a placating motion. “Please, we just need to talk about this. You’re confused.” 

If anything Riley’s words only seemed to spark more flames in Chase’s anger. “Don’t treat me like I’m an idiot. I’m not confused. There’s a thing in my head that’s making me feel things that I can’t control – that doesn’t make me stupid.” 

“I never said – ”

“You didn’t have to. I might not be as smart as you or the others,” Chase shook his head and took a step back, “But I would never lie to you like you lied to me.” 

“Chase, please.” Riley begged, feeling the invisible knife in his heart twist slowly in his chest. 

“If you can’t trust me,” Chase breathed, “then there’s no reason for us to be together.” 

“Chase!” Riley called, but Chase turned and rushed out of the lab, leaving shocked silence in his wake. 

“What just happened?” Shelby asked after along, heavy moment passed. 

“Ms. Morgan,” Riley felt close to shaking apart. He wasn’t certain if he could hold it together enough to go after Chase. He wasn’t sure if he could fix the damage he had caused. “We need to destroy that device.” 

“Right.” Kendall breathed and refocused on the data she had collected. “It would be easier if Chase – but I think I can still narrow down the location. Give me a few minutes.” 

“I’ll help.” Shelby offered. 

“I’m going after him.” Riley announced. 

“We’ll go with you.” Tyler and Ivan appeared. “We heard the end.” Tyler added with a sad look. “He’s not thinking clearly, Riley. We’re going to fix this.” 

Riley nodded, feeling cold and suddenly very alone. He shoved his feelings aside as best he could, Chase needed him, even if Chase didn’t realize it. Riley just hoped their breakup wasn’t permanent. 

“Let’s go.” Riley nodded and led the way out of the lab and after Chase. 

__

Chase was on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Everything in his life seemed to be imploding in front of his very eyes. He’d broken up with Riley. Why had he broken up with Riley? His emotions were everywhere. One minute he felt horribly betrayed by Riley and the next he wanted nothing more than to go back to the lab and apologize until Riley forgave him. 

What was right and what was wrong? Chase couldn’t see the line anymore everything was blurred and smeared. Nothing was making sense. His head hurt and his heart ached and nothing made – 

“Fancy meeting you here,” Heckyl said, stepping out from behind a tree. “You look glum, black ranger.” 

“Heckyl.” Chase said and turned to face his enemy, arms up and ready for a fight. He still didn’t have his Energem with him, but he wasn’t about to run and hide. 

“I’m not here to fight you.” Heckyl promised, showing Chase his open palms. “I’m here to ask you to join me.” 

“What?” Chase shook his head, “No. Obviously no.” 

“Don’t be so quick to dismiss me, Chase.” Heckyl said as he stepped closer to the confused ranger. “I’ve seen how your so-called friends treat you. They don’t understand you. They don’t appreciate you.” 

Chase glared at Heckyl and stood his ground. “No, you’re lying to me. You’re messing with my head. I won’t let you win.” 

“You don’t understand,” Heckyl told Chase calmly. “I’m not messing with your head, Chase, I’m opening you to the truth. You forget that I was there, that I listened to your lover’s quarrel. You deserve more, Chase. You deserve better.”

“I don’t – I don’t remember,” Chase muttered, the dizzy feeling returned with a vengeance as Heckyl took a couple steps forward. “No, stay back.” 

Heckyl paused, obeying Chase, which only served to confuse him more. Heckyl had no reason to listen to Chase. Heckyl could destroy Chase right then and there and be done with the black ranger forever. So why wasn’t Heckyl attacking? It had to be part of some plan, didn’t it? 

“Chase, let me help you.” Heckyl pleaded, his eyes filled with concern that Chase was very unsure of. “They’ve been using you from the start, keeping you away from your family – it’s not right. I want to help you.” 

“You want to destroy me.” Chase shook his head, trying in vain to clear it. 

“No,” Heckyl promised, so sincerely that Chase stopped and stared at the man. “I want to help free you. Come with me, fight with me. All I want is to leave this planet and return home. Is that so wrong?” 

“You’re trying to kill us,” Chase frowned. 

“No, Snide is trying to kill you.” Heckyl corrected. “With your help I’ll be able to control him and you can help me go home and then you can go home. To your family.” 

“How can I help?” Chase questioned, slowly losing himself in his own confusion. Riley had told him not to listen to his emotions. Riley was driven by logic but Chase couldn’t see any logic, all he knew is that he suddenly felt sorry for Heckyl and wasn’t sure why. 

“With you’re cleverness we can come up with a plan to control Snide,” Heckyl said pleadingly. 

Chase shook his head again. “I think you’ve got the wrong Power Ranger.” 

“You doubt yourself.” Heckyl frowned. “You shouldn’t. You are far smarter than you even know. Together we can defeat Snide!” 

“Chase!” The sound of Riley’s voice distracted Chase. Heckyl moved to stand by Chase’s side. 

“Don’t allow them to hold you back,” Heckyl told Chase. “If you come with me you can show them how powerful you truly are.” 

“Chase, get away from him!” Tyler shouted as he skidded to a stop next to Riley and Ivan. 

“He isn’t going to listen to your lies anymore,” Heckyl announced and stepped in front of Chase like he meant to protect the black ranger. Chase stared at the back of Heckyl’s head and paused. Maybe Heckyl was trying to help him after all. 

“What?” Ivan scoffed. “Us? Lie? Never. This is your doing. Don’t twist our intentions and confuse our friend!” 

“Yeah, what Ivan said!” Tyler shouted his agreement. 

“But Riley did lie.” Chase said softly, unable to look at his friends as he spoke. “You lied and manipulated me, just like he said.” 

“What?” Tyler asked, shocked. 

“No, he’s right.” Riley hunched his shoulders slightly. “I lied to him. I manipulated him. Chase, I’m so sorry. Let me explain!” 

“Riley,” Tyler said suddenly. “You need to tell him how you feel. The truth.” 

__

Riley nodded and knew that Tyler was right. Only Riley could persuade Chase to return to their side of the fight. Riley cursed the device internally. If it weren’t for that thing messing with Chase’s head this would never have blown out of proportion. Of course, Chase would still remember what Riley said the day before. 

“Chase, you’re beautiful, charming and everyone wants you. I didn’t want to admit that I was insecure, that I was afraid that one day you’d look at me and realize that you could do so much better. You’re out of my league, Chase, I just wanted to keep you a little longer. The fight we had was me allowing my insecurities to override my mind. I allowed some pent up emotions to get the better of me and I am so sorry. I know you would never cheat on me, I trust you, I do, but I was afraid that I would lose you. When you didn’t remember the fight I thought it was a gift. I lied to you, but only because I wanted to forget what I said out of anger.”

“What did you say?” Chase asked. “What was so terrible that you would lie to me?”

Riley looked from Chase to Heckyl and thought that this wasn’t the best place to repeat his words. Heckyl might use Riley’s careless comment against them. “It doesn’t matter now. I love you!” 

“He told you that he wanted you to change.” Heckyl told Chase. “He said he wished you could be different.” 

Riley’s jaw dropped and Chase’s eyes widened in shock. “Riley, tell me he’s lying.” Chase begged. 

Riley opened his mouth, but swallowed down the lie threatening to escape. It was time to tell the truth. Maybe if he had told Chase instead of Heckyl then Chase wouldn’t be looking so devastated. “I was upset.” Riley tried to explain. “I didn’t mean it, I love you for you, but I was so afraid that you were going to leave me. So I left you first.” 

“I only wanted you,” Chase whispered and stepped forward, just in front of Heckyl. Heckyl reached out and touched the back of Chase’s neck in a soothing manor. 

“He doesn’t love you, Chase,” Heckyl said with sympathetic eyes. “He’s lied to you. He doesn’t trust you. All he needs you for is your Energem.” 

__

Riley looked stricken and Chase’s heart deflated in his chest. Was Heckyl right? Heckyl, at least in this situation, hadn’t lied. He told Chase that he was using the machine to open up Chase’s eyes to the truth. He wanted Chase’s help. Heckyl hadn’t lied, had he? Heckyl had told Chase what Riley refused. 

“Chase, I did lie and I’m so very sorry that I did. I love you, please, if nothing else know that I love you.” 

“But you lied to me.” Chase closed his eyes, the pressure in his head becoming unbearable. “I know I’m a screw up. I know I flirt, but you knew that and you agreed to date me anyway. I – I would have tried harder, but I don’t always realize when I, I’m an idiot. I can’t stop who I am. You deserve more, Riley. I messed it up. You lied because I messed it up. I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. This is all my fault.” 

Heckyl’s grip went from soothing to possessive, the grip bruising. 

“Let him go!” Riley yelled along with the other rangers. 

“Never.” Heckyl said and nodded to the Vivix who turned a dial on the machine it held. Chase’s face contorted with pain as he screamed and grabbed his head before he fell to his knees. “He’s mine now,” Heckyl cackled as he raised up his arms in victory. “Even if he hasn’t fully accepted it yet. When I’m done with him, he will destroy you all and bring me your Energems! 

In a flash Heckyl and Chase vanished, leaving a stunned group of rangers behind.


	6. Chapter 6

Riley ran forward, but it was already too late. Chase was gone. Taken. Falling to his knees Riley ran his hands through his hair as he struggled to accept defeat. Chase was gone. Chase was in the hands of the enemy. 

“Riley.” Tyler knelt down next to Riley and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “We’re going to get him back.” 

“How?” Riley asked despairingly. “They have a machine that’s going to manipulate his mind – gah, this is all my fault. I can’t – I can’t breathe, Tyler.” Riley panted and clutched at his shirt, his polo collar felt too tight. Suffocating. “He’s gone. It’s my fault. I lied.” 

“That butt-sniffing lizard will not get away with this!” Ivan shouted with such serious passion that the other rangers stopped and stared. 

Tyler cracked a smile and shared a look with Riley who managed a small smile back. 

“Uh, Ivan?” Riley asked, still upset but momentarily distracted from his internal pain and turmoil. “Did you ask Koda to help you update your insults again?” 

Ivan blinked and looked suspicious. “Yes. How could you tell?” 

“Lucky guess.” Tyler smiled, but the smile vanished quickly as the light moment passed. “We need to get back to the lab, maybe Ms. Morgan and Shelby can figure out a way to track Chase. We are going to save him, Riley.”

“Yes.” Riley looked up at the sky. “We are.” 

__

Heckyl turned to face Chase and sweet talk the ranger into a jail cell when he suddenly found his arms full of the man in question. The hug was, heartwarming, Heckyl wasn’t certain how to react, but held onto Chase after a long moment. Perhaps his plan worked better than he thought. 

“Thank you.” Chase panted, still clinging to Heckyl. “I don’t know how to thank you properly. You were right. You freed my mind and helped me see the truth. How can I repay you for something like that?” 

“Pledge yourself to me, black ranger,” Heckyl breathed in Chase’s scent at his neck and pulled him back so he could look into the man’s eyes. “Together we will conquer Snide and save your world.” He lied skillfully. 

Chase’s lips curled into an easy smile. “Of course I pledge myself to you. Together we’ll teach my former team not to play with people’s heads, or their hearts.”

A grin spread across Heckyl’s crooked face and he gripped Chase’s shoulder gently then cupped his face in his hands. Heckyl reveled in the feeling of his enemy so completely at his mercy. If he wanted to, he could squeeze the life out of Chase, but no, that wasn’t the plan. At least not the current plan.

“Yes,” Heckyl agreed as he looked down at Chase. “But first I need you to hide. I fear my other side needs to come out to play for a bit. I’ll leave you with some Vivix for protection. They will ensure your safety until I return.” 

“Yes,” Chase said and averted his eyes in a show of reverence, “Whatever you desire, master.” 

A shiver ran through Heckyl and he reluctantly released Chase’s cheeks. “Go.” He commanded and Chase actually bowed to him before he turned and followed his Vivix watchers out into the cellblock. 

Yes, Heckyl grinned as Snide took control over their body, Chase would be a fun addition to his team. 

__

“Breathe, Riley.” Tyler tried to coach when Kendall announced there was no way for her to track Chase or figure out where Heckyl’s hideout was. “It’s going to be fine.” 

“I should have been there.” Koda shook his head. “Chase would have listened.” 

“I don’t think anything would have helped Chase, Koda.” Shelby told the caveman carefully. “He’s just too far gone.” 

“No.” Ivan shook his head. “He fought the conditioning in the end, did you not see it?” 

The others turned to face the knight who looked mildly insulted. Ivan frowned and tried to explain. “Riley, he told you that he was sorry and apologized to you. Moments later the control of the device was intensified.”

Tyler’s eyes widened. “He has a point!” With a snap of his fingers he turned to the others. “Chase was fighting. That’s why Heckyl said ‘he doesn’t know it yet, but he’s mine’ that means that there’s still a chance Chase will be okay.” 

“That was here though.” Shelby said sadly. “He’s on the ship now, or wherever the bad guys are hold up.” 

“What does that have to – oh.” Riley closed his eyes. “The closer Chase is to the device the more powerful control it’ll have over him. Even if Chase was fighting the effects, the odds of him being able to fight there are impossible.” 

“So we’re just going to give up on him?” Tyler demanded. “That’s not fair. Chase is strong – I believe he’s going to be okay.” 

“I want him to be okay.” Riley spoke up. “But logically speaking we need to prepare for both scenarios.” 

“Plan still the same.” Koda folded his arms over his chest. “If we destroy device we free Chase, Chase on our side.” 

Riley nodded. “Problem solved.” A spark of hope reignited in Riley’s heart. “If we destroy the device we’ll free him.”

“So how are we going to get to the device?” Shelby asked worriedly. The others looked at her and then to Kendall who shook her head and sighed. 

“I’ll do what I can to locate it,” Kendall promised. “In the mean time, we need to keep up appearances.” 

“You want us to work in the café?” Shelby asked in disgust. 

“Trust me when I tell you that it’ll be better for you to have something to do,” Kendall told them calmly. “Sitting around and thinking is only going to distract you.” 

“Ms. Morgan is right.” Tyler sighed. “We need to keep ourselves occupied. After our shifts we’ll train. Shelby, you’ll help Ms. Morgan hunt down the device.” 

“I have a sample of the signal the device put out,” Kendall nodded, already turning her attention to her data tablet. “If I can figure out how to boost the signal I might be able to locate it’s source, but it’s a long shot.” 

“We’ll take whatever shots we can.” Ivan announced.

“Let’s go get our shift over with, Riley.” Shelby sighed and led the way out of the base and back up to the museum. 

Riley put on his apron and thought back to the last shift he had with Chase. He had been so jealous and gotten so angry. Riley wondered where his famous logic had been during those fateful hours. 

“Hey,” Marissa appeared at his side and smiled. “Is Chase not here?” She glanced around. A ping of faded jealousy shot through Riley before he managed to control it. 

“No,” Riley sighed. “He wasn’t feeling good.”

“Oh, that’s too bad.” Marissa said and shifted nervously on her feet. “Look, I just want to apologize about asking him out. I honestly didn’t realize he had finally asked you out or that you two were together.” 

“What?” Riley frowned. “What do you mean?” 

Marissa blushed. “He didn’t tell you?” 

“Tell me what?” Riley wondered, “About yesterday?” 

“No, not that, well that too.” Marissa shook her head. “Um, we all knew he had a crush on you for a while. Pretty much since you started working here. He didn’t exactly hide it well. No matter who flirted with him or who managed to catch his attention for, like, a millisecond, he’d always end up talking about you. Sharon knew he was afraid to ask you out, even though he didn’t drop your name on their date, so we all kind of made bets about who could steal him away from you. Mostly because we had no idea you liked him too, sorry Riley. I don’t think he knew about our bet, honestly, he doesn’t pay a whole lot of attention to us.” 

She winked. “Anyway, we didn’t know that you guys had finally gotten together. I want to apologize for the misunderstanding. I asked him out and he told me that he was hanging out with his boyfriend, you. When I saw you leave I was worried you two had gotten into a fight.”

“He – wait,” Riley shook his head. “All that time you guys were flirting with him?” 

“Well, yeah.” Marissa grinned. “He is hot. None of us got anywhere, though he was always nice and treated us like friends. I think he’s lonely. Greg told me when they went on their date all Chase did was talk about New Zealand and you.” 

“Me?” Riley whispered, shocked. Riley didn’t think it was possible for him to feel any worse, but he was wrong. Chase, even before they had been together, had been loyal to him. “I was so jealous,” Riley admitted. “We broke up.” 

“What?” Marissa looked as broken as Riley felt. “No, don’t do that! He loves you and I have a feeling you love him back. What happened? It wasn’t about yesterday was it?” 

“That,” Riley winced. “And some other things. I don’t want to break up.” He admitted to her and she quickly gave him a comforting hug. 

“He’ll forgive you, I just know it.” Marissa promised. “Please don’t give up on Chase, I know he loves you. Just talk to him.” 

“I’ll try.” Riley promised, although he wasn’t sure if he’d ever have the opportunity. “I’m sorry, I’m not feeling very well either. Let the others know I went home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is one of my favorites ^^


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy V-day! An extra long chapter...almost as sweet as chocolate. ^^

Chase couldn’t believe his luck, or how messed up his mind was getting. Everything in his head was upside-down and although Chase was fighting the confusion, he was terrified he might lose the battle. 

Once onboard the ship the immense pressure that had been building in his mind had dimmed to a more manageable level. Chase wondered why, but was too grateful to over question his fortune. 

Whatever had happened, Chase had managed to follow the only plan that made sense. Whatever he was feeling was wrong and he should do the opposite. It was what Riley had told him to do and Riley was the most brilliant man Chase knew, even if his mind was telling him that Riley was the enemy. It was the only logic that Chase trusted.

His mind was wrong. Riley was right.

Seducing Heckyl wasn’t part of the plan, but it had become the plan. Heckyl had a disturbing amount of lust in his eyes when Chase pledged his loyalty to him. Plus it was disturbingly easy to give into Heckyl’s requests. Chase honestly wasn’t certain if he had been acting or if he had given into Heckyl’s demands in that moment. 

The unknown terrified Chase. 

“I definitely need to get out of here.” Chase muttered almost silently to himself as he made his way through the monster cellblock. Monsters were glaring at him, but none of them approached Chase or his Vivix bodyguard. “Sooner rather than later.” Chase inhaled sharply as his luck ran out with the monsters. A large blue creature stood before him, it’s red eyes bore into him in a very unpleasant way. 

“No need to be touchy.” Chase said boldly. “We’re on the same team now.” 

The creature, which looked sort of like a skinny blue polar bear, roared directly in front of Chase’s face. Spittle flew onto Chase’s skin – it burned like acid, but Chase held his ground as the Vivix started to defend him. 

It was his chance. With the Vivix distracted with ‘protecting’ him, Chase disappeared through several doorways and hid himself out of sight. He took a moment to hold his aching head and try and sort through all the conflicting emotions that raged inside of it. 

Most of his thoughts and emotions were jumbled together in a thick, tangled mess. It physically hurt to try and think passed the chaos. 

The majority of Chase’s brain wanted to go find Heckyl and follow any order he was given – that was the wrong thing to do, the rest of Chase’s brain supplied. It insisted that Chase needed to find the device and destroy it. “A simple enough solution.” Chase repeated his previous words like a prayer. 

Somewhere in the chaos of Chase’s mind he realized that he was running out of time. Soon he’d have no choice but to obey Heckyl. “No.” Chase choked on the word as he gripped the sides of his head. “Riley.” He pleaded and wished that Riley could be there with him, but Chase quickly regretted that wish. Riley was free and free was good. 

Riley deserved to be free. 

Riley was good, although there were strong voices in Chase’s head telling him he was wrong. 

“The device.” Chase reminded himself harshly as he stumbled to his feet. He needed to focus, for once in his life, in order to save his life. 

The influence the device had over Chase got stronger the closer he got to it. It made for an interesting game of Hot and Cold. The closer Chase got to his prize the further he felt from victory. It was a struggle to keep reminding himself of what he needed to do when his mind screamed to do the opposite. Well, the opposite of the opposite.

Chase’s life was complicated.

His head throbbed painfully by the time he found Wrench’s lab. It felt like several white-hot knives had worked their way under his skull and were burning the surface of his brain away. 

The device.

There it was on the table. It looked almost exactly like the picture in the magazine. 

“Still remember.” Chase breathed as he stepped into the empty room. Suddenly it felt impossible to move forward. Chase struggled against the invisible force for a moment before his body seemed to shut down and his mind whited out.

He relaxed as his head went numb. Vaguely Chase wondered if he was experiencing what a computer felt when it was forced to restart. It was of no consequence. He needed to find his master. Chase turned to leave but found himself tense again as an image flashed before his eyes. A loving face twisted up in pure anguish. 

“Riley.” Chase whispered as he gripped the doorframe to stop his body from leaving the room. Chase needed to get back to Riley. He needed to apologize for the words he had said. Chase wanted nothing more than to erase that broken look Riley had given him from his memory. 

“Riley.” Chase repeated as he forced his uncooperative body back to face the device. He stumbled forward and barely managed to get his twitching fingers around the machine. Pain shot through Chase’s head and he had to stifle the urge to scream and resisted the need to grab at his head in an attempt to cure the pain. With more effort than he had ever needed for anything ever, Chase picked up the machine and let it slip from his fingers and crash against the ground. 

It was all Chase could do. 

On impact everything shorted out and Chase fell to his knees next to the device. Panting. His head was still clouded with confusion, but it was far more manageable. The pull to return to his master’s side was shaken, corrupted by Chase’s need to return to Riley. 

Immediately Chase wanted to destroy the machine, but he hesitated just short of grabbing ahold of the device. No, he shouldn’t destroy it. If he destroyed it he’d never get off the ship alive. No, Chase realized, swallowing his apprehension down thickly. He needed to pretend a little while longer. 

Carefully Chase used his shaking hands to open a panel on the machine to reveal a few wires. With a fumbling hand he found a knife on the workbench and used it to cut the wires. 

The relief was instantaneous. The pressure was lifted and only a regular headache remained in its place. 

Chase wiped the back of his hand across his sweat drenched forehead as he focused on replacing the panel and setting everything back to the way it was when he had entered the room. 

Okay, Chase told himself as he leaned heavily against the table and double checked his surroundings. He could do this. He could survive. 

Chase still didn’t have his Energem, which meant he couldn’t morph, which meant he was screwed if Heckyl found out he was no longer under his control. 

The plan was simple, Chase thought as he straightened his back and dulled his eyes carefully. Chase needed to put all of his acting skills to good use if he was going to survive. 

Chase just hoped that Riley would forgive him. 

__

“Riley, open up.” Tyler pleaded on the other side of Riley’s apartment door. Riley ignored Tyler’s requests and knocking and continued to sit curled on the couch. He needed space and time to think. Of course, Kendall had been right, thinking only proved to cause Riley more angst. “You shouldn’t be alone.” Tyler continued. The red ranger could be annoyingly stubborn when he wanted to be. 

Giving up, Riley uncurled his body and moved to open the door. “Please leave.” Riley requested as kindly as he could muster under the circumstances. 

“Not until I know you are going to be okay.” Tyler insisted. “Chase wouldn’t want you to be alone.” 

“Chase broke up with me.” Riley reminded the red ranger. 

“He only did that because he was under the influence of that device.” Tyler argued. “He’s crazy about you. So you lied and got into a fight, he’ll forgive you when he’s thinking clearly again.”

“How can you be so sure?” Riley asked, narrowing his eyes at Tyler. 

“Because Chase talked to me before he first asked you out.” Tyler explained. “He was looking for Koda, but Koda and Ivan were off exploring the world together. I asked him what was wrong and he said he was afraid to do something. I pushed him to tell me what it was and he told me that he was bisexual and he had a crush on you. He said he couldn’t sleep and Keeper had told him the insomnia was from keeping a secret. I asked him what he was going to do and he asked me what I would do.” 

“What did you say?” Riley pressed when Tyler didn’t automatically continue. 

“I told him that I was scared shitless of my feelings for Shelby and I was a terrible person to ask that particular question.” Tyler smiled lightly. “Then I told him if it was messing with me to the point where I couldn’t sleep I would do what Keeper suggested.” 

“You talked him into it?” Riley summed everything up. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Tyler’s story. 

“No, not really.” Tyler admitted. “You can’t convince someone to express their love for someone else. All I did was tell him that I would support him no matter what happened. He was afraid you wouldn’t feel the same, I wasn’t so sure. I told him to give you a chance and that he might be surprised.” 

“I thought I was pretty discrete about my feelings for him.” Riley frowned at Tyler who grinned. 

“You were, most of the time.” Tyler agreed. “Chase was so mixed up that he wasn’t sure if you were into him or if you thought he was the most annoying person in the world.” 

“What?” Riley blinked. 

“Any time you were really trying to not like Chase or hide your feelings you were kind of standoffish.” Tyler explained while he scratched nervously at the back of his neck. “Like with the whole Cavity monster thing.” 

Riley blushed at the memory of trying to apologize to Chase only to realize Chase hadn’t heard a word. “Right.” Riley nodded. “He did forgive me for how I treated him during that debacle.”

“See?” Tyler grinned brightly. “Don’t give up on Chase. We’ll get him back and you guys can talk everything out – don’t hold anything back, okay?” 

“You’re right.” Riley nodded feeling a bit more determined than he had moments before. “First we need to get him back, then I can worry about everything else.” 

“Alright,” Tyler nodded. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride back to the museum, you shouldn’t be alone right now. None of us should.” 

Still reluctant, Riley gave in and grabbed his keys. He followed Tyler out to the jeep silently as his mind started to reel once more. Riley stared up at the sky and wondered what Chase was doing and if he was safe.   
__

“Ah ha!” Fury snarled and grabbed ahold of Chase’s arm as he walked down the hallway. Chase nearly jumped out of his skin, but forced himself to remain dull and lifeless in Fury’s grasp. “I knew you were a little traitor.” 

“Traitor?” Chase asked the question back innocently, looking as devastated as he could. “I would never betray my master.”

“Save it for the stage, ranger.” Fury said coldly and dragged Chase to Heckyl’s throne room. “I found him wandering around, alone.” Fury announced and shoved Chase onto the ground in front of Heckyl who stood and eyed them both. 

“Where is your guard?” Heckyl asked Chase as he hooked his fingers under Chase’s chin and forced the black ranger to meet his eyes. 

“We were attacked by a blue polar bear.” Chase said. “I escaped and got lost. I’m not sure what happened to my guard.” 

“Slasher.” Heckyl hissed, but moved his fingers from Chase’s chin up the side of his cheek before running his fingers through Chase’s hair. Chase suddenly knew what Riley’s dog felt like. The feeling wasn’t exactly unpleasant. “I’ll make a blanket order that you are not to be harmed. These burn marks are absolutely dreadful. They should fade, though.” Something in Heckyl’s expression told Chase that the evil man still found him attractive. The thought made him shiver involuntarily. 

“You’re shivering. It is quite cold on this ship,” Heckyl apologized and pulled his hands away from Chase’s body. 

“You don’t honestly believe him?” Fury roared. He grabbed ahold of Chase and forced him to stand. “He’s lying to you, sir, let me kill him and end this now!” 

Heckyl tipped his head before he turned calculating eyes to Chase. “Are you trying to trick me? The way your friends tricked you into believing they cared about you?” 

“Never, master.” Chase breathed and swallowed down his revulsion to what he was about to do. “Let me prove my loyalty to you.” 

“Oh?” Heckyl asked with a smug look of curiosity plastered on his admittedly handsome face. “And how – ”

Chase cut Heckyl off with a kiss. It was soft at first, tender and shy. If Chase closed his eyes he could almost imagine that he was kissing Riley. Almost. No. It was very different. 

Riley’s lips were always soft and warm. They were inviting and although they were sometimes shy, they always showed Chase the love he craved. 

Heckyl’s lips were cold to the touch and sent shivers running through Chase for all the wrong reasons. The soft kiss turned possessive quickly as Heckyl gave into the passion. One of Heckyl’s hands ran through Chase’s hair and twisted his fingers until they were hopelessly tangled. Heckyl pulled Chase’s hair painfully as he deepened the kiss. 

Heckyl’s other hand trailed from the small of Chase’s back up his spine, resting just above the place where the implant had been injected. Everything about Heckyl’s actions were possessive and controlling. Chase felt his stomach twist as Heckyl bit down on his lip. 

A soft moan broke from Chase as Heckyl manhandled him around and pressed Chase’s back into the hard, cold surface of the ship’s metal wall. Their bodies pressed together and Chase wondered if Riley would ever forgive him for betraying him like this. Chase’s body betrayed him by reacting to the attention of a willing body pressed up against him in all the right ways. 

Chase wasn’t doing this for fun. He didn’t want to make out with the man who threatened everything he loved. Chase was doing it to survive. 

He hoped that Riley would understand that. 

Breathless, Heckyl finally broke the kiss and looked longingly into Chase’s eyes. “Not that I didn’t enjoy that,” Heckyl started in a rough whisper, “but allowing me to use your body isn’t exactly an act of loyalty.” 

“Allow me to go to their base and retrieve my Energem.” Chase pleaded and paused to kiss Heckyl’s neck seductively. “When I’m reunited with its power I’ll be able to exact my revenge on the other rangers.”

“You’ll bring me their Energems?” Heckyl moaned heavily as Chase sucked on his earlobe. 

“I’ll bring you anything you want.” Chase vowed.

Heckyl held onto Chase for a moment before he pulled away and straightened up his tunic. “Bring me the Energems.” Heckyl announced. “If you succeed we’ll rule the universe together, if you fail I won’t destroy you, I’ll make you my personal bed slave.” 

Chase shivered, “That doesn’t sound so bad.” He commented. 

The twisted look on Heckyl’s face changed Chase’s mind quick. “We shall see about that. Go, take Fury with you and do not fail me.” 

“Yes,” Chase bowed low, hand over his heart. “My master.” 

Chase realized as he walked away with Fury that he might have sentenced himself to a fate worse than death, but was too excited at the prospect of seeing Riley and his friends again to care. With any luck Chase would be free and Riley, well, Riley might even eventually forgive him. 

It was amazing how easy it was to be optimistic without that device messing with his head. 

“If you turn on us there won’t be enough of you left for Heckyl to defile.” Fury breathed down Chase’s neck as they reached the transport room. 

“Don’t forget this.” Wrench appeared, handing Fury a small device. 

“What does that do?” Chase asked curiously, only to receive an impressive glare from his jailer. 

“None of your business, ranger.” Fury growled and nodded to Wrench. “Set us down close to the museum.” 

“Why there?” Chase asked, knowing full well why Fury had requested that location. It was all part of Chase’s plan. Chase just hoped he survived long enough for it to work.

“It’s obvious that the ranger’s base is near there.” Fury narrowed his gaze at Chase. 

Chase shook his head. “No, you got it all wrong, mate.” Chase told him. “The Power Rangers are as deceitful as my master says. They only wanted you to believe that was where their base was located.” He turned to Wrench and continued. “Set us down in the woods by the mountain – I can guide us the rest of the way.” 

Wrench looked from Chase to Fury and waited for the angry cat’s permission. 

“Fine!” Fury hissed. “Do as he says.” 

“Right away, sir.” Wrench answered and pressed a few buttons. 

Chase inhaled sharply as his world flickered out and changed around him in a bright flash. Now all he had to do was distract Fury without getting killed and hope that his friends, that Riley would come to his rescue. 

Chase just hoped he could survive long enough to be rescued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC


	8. Chapter 8

“Monster activity.” Kendall announced to the team, scattered about the lab. Shelby had been working on trying to find a new way to track down the device. Riley and Ivan had been sparring, mostly to distract the green ranger from the loss of Chase. Tyler had been journaling and Koda had somehow managed to take a nap. 

All of the rangers were on immediate alert at Kendall’s call. 

“Chase?” Koda asked before Riley could get his lips to form the name of his boyfriend. Well, former boyfriend and hopefully future boyfriend. 

“There’s no way to know without investigating.” Kendall sighed and looked up at the group. “The signal is coming from deep within the woods.” 

“What are they doing out there?” Shelby wondered out loud. 

“Doesn’t matter.” Riley announced and looked directly at Tyler. “We need to get there – fast.” 

“Right.” Tyler agreed. “Let’s take the bikes. It’s morphing time!” 

__

The ride into the woods was quicker than it felt. Riley tried very hard not to let his erratic emotions override his more logical brain. He was certain that his brain was the only thing that could save Chase. His emotions would only get in the way. 

“This is the area the monster’s energy was coming from,” Shelby told the group as they rolled to a stop on the bikes. 

“Why are they out here?” Tyler wondered out loud. 

“Maybe they’ve located another Energem?” Ivan suggested as he hoped off his bike. Like Koda, Ivan wasn’t a big fan of using the motorcycles as transportation. He didn’t mind Tyler’s jeep, but commented once that he would prefer riding the wildest of horses to the metal steeds. 

“Should we split up?” Koda asked as he looked around. 

“Wait,” Shelby announced suddenly. “I’m picking up the frequency of the device.” 

Riley’s eyes widened a little. “Can you track it?” 

“I think so.” Shelby said as she messed with her tablet. “Yes. It’s coming from this direction.” She pointed and led the way into the woods. 

All the while Riley’s heart was racing in his chest. If Shelby was picking up the frequency of the device that had to mean that Chase was with whatever monster Heckyl had sent down. 

There was only one question ringing through Riley’s mind. Would Chase still be on their side? Or would Riley be forced to fight the man he loved?

“There they are!” Tyler shouted and ran through the thick trees into a clearing. Riley followed closely behind until he spotted Chase standing slightly in front of Fury. Both of their attentions were elsewhere until Tyler’s call. Chase seemed to lock eyes with Riley as Riley stood in position behind Tyler. The expression was hard to read, but Riley swore there was happiness in Chase’s eyes. 

“Foolish rangers!” Fury bellowed. “You won’t be able to defend your base from us any longer!” 

“Our base?” Shelby asked before glancing at Tyler in confusion. 

“Why he talk about our base?” Koda asked Riley who shrugged his shoulder. 

“Because I told him it was out here.” Chase answered with a sly grin. “I didn’t exactly want him to hurt anyone before you guys showed up.” 

Fury turned from the rangers and stared at Chase before he erupted in anger. “Traitor! Heckyl will not stand for your treachery!” Before the rangers had time to consider what was happening before their eyes, Fury drew a blaster from his side and fired at Chase’s unprotected body. 

“Chase!” Riley cried as Chase hit the ground and didn’t move after the blast. 

Chaos and destruction rained down around Riley, but he didn’t care. All he could think about was reaching Chase’s side. When he finally got there he was blown off his feet by a blast of electricity. With a groan he crawled the rest of the way to Chase’s side, his ears ringing in his head from the force of the blast. 

“Chase.” Riley nearly sobbed as he gathered the fallen black ranger into his arms. Chase’s side was a mess of twisted flesh and blood. Riley hoped the damage looked worse than it actually was, but the sight of it caused his heart to stop in his chest. “Chase?” 

“Ri-ley.” Chase’s lips moved slow, his eyes wandered before they located Riley’s face. “See you.” 

Riley managed a hesitant smile. “I see you too.” Riley said, pulling Chase’s head into his lap protectively. He glanced up and watched Fury and Ivan clash against one another, raining sparks and destruction as they battled fiercely together. 

“Ri,” Chase coughed a little and fumbled a bloody hand until it was twisted up in the front of Riley’s shirt. “S-sorry.” 

“No,” Riley shook his head and held Chase a little tighter. “I should be apologizing. I lied to you.” 

“W-anted,” Chase licked his lips and his eyes fluttered wildly. “See you. O-ne l-last time.” 

The words were fading with Chase’s strength and Riley honestly wasn’t sure what he could do or how he could protect Chase. He looked at the wound, still torn and bleeding and saw that Chase’s body was haloed by a pool of red blood. 

Chase was running out of time. 

“No,” Riley gritted out as he ripped off his own shirt and pushed the fabric over Chase’s wound. “You aren’t dying. I’m not going to let you!” 

Chase’s eyes were already closed, his hand had lost its grip on Riley’s shirt and fallen aside leaving a crimson stain in its place. Riley laid Chase down in the soft grass and focused on putting pressure on Chase’s side. 

“I just got you back.” Riley snapped at Chase’s slack body. “You aren’t going to leave me now! Please don’t leave me!”

“Riley.” Shelby knelt by Riley’s side and reached out, brushing a hand over Chase’s pale face. “We have to get him to a hospital.” 

“Will he make it?” Tyler asked as he hovered over their shoulders. Koda knelt on the other side of Chase and gently peeled Riley’s hands away from the wound and took a good look. Koda closed his eyes with a pained expression. 

Riley had to remind himself that Koda probably wasn’t used to seeing people survive such horrific injuries in his time period. 

“Yes.” Riley insisted. “We just need to get him help.” 

“What about his Energem?” Ivan suggested, drawing the eyes of his friends. “He’s been separated from it for a while, it may have weakened the bond. If we reunite them it might give Chase an edge over his injuries. It may help him survive.” 

“We should try everything.” Riley said and looked up at Shelby. “Call an ambulance, he needs to be airlifted if he’s going to survive.” 

“How are we going to explain this?” Tyler asked, running his hands nervously through his hair as he stood up straighter. 

“We’ll tell them the truth,” Riley replied, his eyes once again locked on Chase’s slack face. “He was taken by alien’s and experimented on.” 

“Maybe they can remove the implant!” Tyler beamed at the idea. 

Riley nodded, glad that Tyler caught onto his plan. They would never be able to remove the implant by themselves. This was Chase’s best chance at complete freedom. 

“They’re on their way.” Shelby announced. 

Already Riley could hear the blades of the helicopter in the distance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluff with a side of angst ^^

The hospital was teaming with sick and injured strangers. All Riley could think about was Chase and how the doctors had taken him away and not updated them since. 

That had been hours ago. 

Kendall was Chase’s emergency contact. Theoretically she should have access to how Chase was doing, but there was some form that had been filed wrong. 

“His family is in another country!” Kendall was yelling at the terrified young girl at the front desk. 

“I’m sorry,” The girl said sincerely. She looked close to tears. “My boss is trying to find the forms, but until we either have the forms or have the patient’s permission we can’t allow you access to any information regarding your friend. It’s policy.” 

“Screw policy!” Kendall screamed, losing every ounce of self-control she possessed. 

Riley almost found it humorous. 

Almost. 

If Chase weren’t laid up in a bed somewhere in the hospital, alone and probably dying. 

No, Chase wouldn’t die. “Please.” Riley said pleadingly as he stepped to stand at Kendall’s side. “We just want to know if he’s still alive.” 

Riley’s soft plea in comparison to Kendall’s raving anger seemed to soften the woman’s frightened eyes. “I really should wait for my boss.” She said, still uncertain as she turned her eyes from Riley and looked back at her computer. “But I can tell you that he’s alive and out of surgery.” The young woman closed her eyes and looked up at Riley. “That’s all I can tell you, I am sorry, but we have to wait for my boss.” 

“We understand.” Riley heaved a sigh of relief and put his hand on Kendall’s shoulder. “That’s all that matters.” He told her. “We can deal with everything else later.” 

Kendall seemed to deflate at the news, breaking down into hiccupping sobs. Riley watched for a moment before he pulled the older woman into his arms and tried to comfort her as he processed everything. 

Kendall had tracked Chase down first. She had dragged him from New Zealand and away from his family to come to the United States and put him in unimaginable danger. Riley hadn’t realized that until Kendall finally broke down. Kendall felt responsible for all of them, but Koda and Chase were her personal responsibilities. 

“He’s alive.” Riley whispered and closed his eyes, allowing himself to realize just how close he had come to losing his lover. “He’s alive.” 

Shelby wrapped her arms around Riley and he gratefully held onto her comfort. “We need to contact Dr. Ride and let him know what happened.” Riley told her. 

“I’ve already done that.” Shelby smiled shyly. “He’s on his way.” 

“How are we going to explain all of this?” Ivan asked worriedly. 

“We’ll tell them the truth.” Riley announced. “We’ll tell them that the Power Ranger’s rescued our friend and told us that their enemy used the device Dr. Ride created on him.”

“Riley’s right.” Kendall agreed. “I think that could work. I just wished they could locate the paperwork so we could get a full length update on Chase’s condition.”

“Ma’am!” The young lady at the front desk ran over to join the group. “We found the paperwork.” She explained with a wince. “He signed the form, but, well, it looks like you didn’t.” Mary, the girl’s nametag read, handed Kendall the paper form. “If you sign it we can call for the doctor to come talk with you.” 

Kendall stared at the paper and quickly moved to grab a pen and signed her name. “I remember now.” She said once she handed off the paper to Mary who rushed to get everything finalized. “I was so worried about Chase being distracted that I got distracted myself.” She smiled faintly and looked at Riley. “We had Koda with us and Koda had never been in a hospital before and had a lot of questions.” 

“I remember,” Koda grinned. “Chase showed me how to use a food machine for first time.” 

“You mean the vending machine?” Tyler grinned. “That sounds like Chase.” 

“We drove Kendall crazy.” Koda remembered fondly. 

Kendall grinned. “Yes, you did. We had some fun times when it was just the three of us.” She turned her eyes back on the rest of the group. “But I’m very glad you all joined us. I don’t think we would have survived as long as we have without you.” 

“He’s going to pull through.” Tyler announced. 

“Yes,” A new voice agreed. Riley turned and spotted the doctor. He looked tired, but positive which made Riley instantly feel relieved. “I assume you are all here for Mr. Chase Randall?” 

“Yes,” Kendall stepped forward. “I am his emergency contact and these are his friends. How is he?” 

“I’m Dr. Chris Roman, I’m the lead surgeon on your friend’s case.” The doctor nodded and motioned for the group to follow him into a private room. The group followed obediently and Riley positioned himself next to Kendall as they faced the doctor, his arms crossed over his body protectively as he waited for the doctor to break everything down for them. 

“The damage was mostly superficial,” The doctor announced. “He lost a lot of blood and the size of the wound was, well, impressive. He was lucky that the blast didn’t seem to go too deep, no bones or internal organs were damaged, which is good. It took a while to get the bleeding under control and to stitch the wound closed, but Mr. Randall is stable and has been moved to the ICU.” 

“The ICU?” Shelby asked before Riley could form the words. 

“Although the wound was superficial and mostly just ugly, he’s still lost a lot of blood and the size of the wound is impressive.” The doctor explained. “We’re worried about infection and the potential of blood clots. He was also in shock when he was brought in, we want to monitor that and make sure his body doesn’t suddenly shut down, the best place to keep a close watch over him is the ICU. I’m afraid that means limited visitation, only those listed on his approved contact list will be allowed in to see him.”

“What?” Riley gaped, very aware that his name wasn’t on that list. If Chase, no, when Chase survived this they were definitely going to fix that particular problem. Their lives were surrounded by too much danger to assume that they wouldn’t be injured again in the future. Riley knew that he would want Chase by his bedside if he were seriously injured. 

Riley just hoped that once they talked Chase felt the same. 

Kendall grabbed and squeezed Riley’s shoulder before looking at the doctor. “What if I let him go in my place. He’s Chase’s boyfriend and he was the one who found Chase.” 

The doctor looked contemplative for a moment before he nodded. “I’ll allow it. Mostly because I don’t think you all will accept a no in this situation.” He smiled tiredly. “I’ll let the nursing staff know and someone will come and take you to see Mr. Randall when he’s ready.” 

“Doctor,” Riley said before the man could leave them. “Will he be awake?” 

“It’s hard to say.” The doctor sighed. “He may wake up from the anesthesia or he may sleep through the night. He needs the rest, so I wouldn’t try and wake him up. If he does wake up I doubt he’ll remember anything he says or does at this point.” 

“I just want to see him.” Riley whispered pleadingly. “I need to know he’s going to be okay.” 

The doctor nodded knowingly. “As long as he can fight off any infections that might pop up and the medicine does its job, he should pull through just fine.” 

“Doctor,” Kendall piped up before the man could leave the room. “There’s something else you should know. There’s an implanted device on his brainstem. We have the man who invented the device coming. It needs to be removed.” 

The doctor frowned, but nodded slowly. “I’d love to hear the whole story, but I have another surgery I need to head to. I’ll tell Mary to get the information and I’ll talk with the inventor when I come out of my next surgery.”

“Of course,” Kendall nodded and followed the doctor from the waiting room. 

Riley watched, but didn’t follow. 

“Make sure you tell him that we’re all here for him.” Shelby told Riley kindly. There were tears in her eyes as she hugged Riley. “I’ll be happy when this is all over and he’s back to normal again.” 

“I’ll tell him,” Riley nodded and hugged Shelby back. “I think we’re all going to be happier when this is all done with.”

“He’s going to be okay.” Tyler joined the hug. “That’s all that matters.” 

“He’s a strong fighter and a worthy friend.” Ivan clapped his hands over their shoulders as Koda swept everyone up in a big, caveman styled bear hug. 

“Chase alive!” Koda cheered. 

For the moment, Chase’s survival was all that mattered.


	10. Chapter 10

Doctor Ride came at the same time a nurse came to collect Riley. Riley knew that the others would be able to explain everything to the inventor and he left with the promise that he’d tell Chase they were there and they would watch his back as he recovered. 

The walk to the ICU was both fast and slow. Riley was filled with an equally balanced mixture of apprehension and excitement. He was afraid of what the future held for his relationship with Chase, but remained hopeful that everything would eventually work out in the end. 

Chase had wanted to see him. Chase had admitted it to Riley after he had been shot. The look of relief and love in Chase’s eyes was enough to twist Riley’s heart. Riley reminded himself of that moment as the nurse opened the door that led into Chase’s ICU room. 

“Before you go in you should prepare yourself.” The nurse said sweetly as she offered a supportive smile. “He’s attached to a few machines, but remember they are there so we can monitor him very carefully. He has two IV’s, one for liquids and one to replenish his blood supply. He is very pale, but remember that he’s on the mend.”

“Thank you.” Riley managed as he stared into the abbess of the doorway. 

“I’m afraid you’ll only be able to stay for a short visit,” the nurse continued kindly. “But you’ll be able to visit more and for longer when he’s moved to the recovery ward.” 

With a nod Riley stepped forward and through the door. The first thing he focused on was the machines and tubes that surrounded Chase. Only after he had mentally accepted all the medical equipment could Riley look at Chase’s face. He was paler than he had been in the woods. White-washed against the even whiter pillow. 

Chase was breathing on his own, which was a good sign. A great one, Riley thought as he stepped forward and gently tangled his fingers in with Chase’s limp hand. 

“Chase,” Riley whispered, afraid to disturb the injured man by talking too loudly. Logically Riley knew that talking loudly or even screaming probably wouldn’t wake Chase up. With a small smile he thought about what the doctors and nurses might think if Riley tried to smuggle in some breakfast food to coax his boyfriend, former boyfriend awake. Hopefully that wouldn’t be necessary. 

“We’re all here for you. You’re going to be okay. When you wake up we’re going to talk about everything. I’m going to make this all up to you, I promise. Just give me a chance to earn your forgiveness.”

For a while the only sounds that filled the room were the steady beeps from the heart monitor and the soothing sounds of Chase’s slow breathing. 

“I’m sorry, sir,” the nurse appeared in the doorway. “Your visitation time is up.” 

Riley nodded and reluctantly stood, but couldn’t bring himself to untangle his fingers from Chase’s. “I’ll be back,” Riley whispered, bending down and kissing his lover on the cheek. 

Unable to look at Chase as he left, Riley started to pull away, but stopped when he felt Chase’s fingers wrap around his weakly. 

“Chase?” Riley whispered as he moved closer to the black ranger. 

Chase’s face scrunched up as he fought the pull of drugged sleep. “Ri,” Chase’s lips slurred as he struggled to open his eyes. 

“I’m here.” Riley said as he held onto Chase’s hand a little tighter and leaned forward so he could hear Chase better. He had to hold himself back just enough to resist the powerful urge to kiss Chase. 

“Ril,” Chase’s eyes finally opened, but they were filled with a milky mist and drug washed, unable to focus on Riley. “Gotta tell,” 

“You don’t have to say anything.” Riley whispered back to Chase and brushed their foreheads gently together. 

“Cheated.” Chase pushed the word passed uncooperative lips. “I,” Chase sighed, but stilled as his eyes closed and his body went slack once more. 

Cheated? Riley blinked. Had Chase just admitted that he had cheated on Riley? Although his heart felt very close to shattering, Riley decided to hold out and wait until Chase could fully explain. 

After all, who could Chase have possibly cheated on him with? 

__

Back in the lobby Riley rejoined the team. Koda was curled up with Tyler and Ivan on one of the waiting room sofas and Shelby and Kendall were quietly talking with one another as Riley appeared. 

“How is he?” Kendall asked as soon as she spotted Riley. 

“On the mend.” Riley answered and joined them. “He woke up for a few seconds, but he didn’t seem to understand what was going on around him.” Not to mention he was speaking nonsense, Riley thought, but decided not to share Chase’s startling declaration with the others. 

“Dr. Ride is with Dr. Roman.” Kendall told him. “I was there for a little while, but this isn’t exactly my field of expertise. They came up with a pretty solid plan to extract the implant. As soon as Chase is out of danger and a little more recovered they are going to preform the surgery and remove the device.” 

“And he’ll be free.” Riley breathed, relieved. 

“I still don’t know how he managed to fight the conditioning so long.” Shelby shook her head. “It’s amazing.” 

“He’s a fighter.” Riley said with an easy smile. “He would never give up without a fight, especially after the whole Spellbinder fiasco.” 

“True.” Shelby winced. “I still have nightmares about that.” 

“Trust me,” Riley sighed. “So does he.” 

__

Riley wasn’t able to see Chase again before they cleared him for the second surgery. Kendall kicked all the rangers out, forcing them to go home and take care of themselves. Riley obeyed only because Kendall had the authority to keep Riley away from Chase if she thought she needed too. 

It was hard though. Riley took a shower and tried to eat, but the food tasted like dirt as his thoughts wandered back to Chase’s slurred words. 

Cheated. 

No, Riley wouldn’t get angry, not until he knew the full truth. After all, getting angry at Chase had gotten them both into trouble before, he wasn’t going to let his emotions get the better of him or his relationship again. 

Chase would be innocent until proven guilty. 

Riley opted to take a sleeping pill to ensure that he could sleep. 

He regretted it by morning, locked inside nightmares for hours with images of Chase being shot by Fury, over and over again. Each time Riley managed to crawl by Chase’s side the black ranger was either already dead or said accusing words, blaming Riley for everything. 

“That didn’t happen.” Riley reminded himself in the morning, rubbing the images from his eyes as he got ready for the new day. “Don’t trouble, trouble.” Riley repeated Chase’s words from before. 

His phone rang and Riley nearly jumped out of his skin. “Hello?” 

“Riley, Tyler’s on his way to pick you up.” Kendall’s tight voice said without any real greeting. 

“What happened?” Riley’s heartbeat kicked into a new speed as he moved to his apartment window to check if Tyler had arrived yet. The jeep wasn’t within sight yet. 

“He came out of the second surgery,” Kendall said. “But he spiked a fever in post-op. He’s delirious and asking for you.” 

Riley closed his eyes and wondered silently if he was still locked in a nightmare. “What is he saying?” 

“Nothing good.” Kendall inhaled sharply. “He needs you, Riley.” 

“I’m ready,” Riley promised and spotted Tyler’s jeep. “He’s here. I’ll be there soon. Tell Chase I’m on my way.”

“Hurry.” Kendall said and ended the call.


	11. Chapter 11

Riley wasn’t prepared for what he saw when he entered Chase’s hospital room. Two muscular orderlies held Chase down as he struggled, sweat soaked and frantically trying to fight the men off. 

“Chase.” Riley called and Chase stopped moving and looked at Riley with sudden clarity. 

“Riley.” Chase panted and sagged against the arms restraining him so suddenly the orderlies fell over from the lack of resistance. Any other day watching the orderlies stumble might have been funny. Riley only cared about Chase. 

“I’m here.” Riley said and moved to Chase’s side as the orderlies straightened their shirts and moved aside. 

“I didn’t want to do it.” Chase stammered, pulling Riley closer to him. Riley had to stop his body’s momentum so that he didn’t crush Chase under his weight. Normally Riley wouldn’t have worried too much about it, but Chase was still injured and obviously unwell, Riley didn’t want to exasperate his condition. 

“Chase,” Riley held Chase’s hand and sat on the edge of the bed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but everything is going to be fine. You need to focus on getting better.” 

Chase shook his head, droplets of sweat dripped from strands of Chase’s hair. He was drenched. Riley winced as Chase stumbled to continue to ramble. “I had to – it was, it wasn’t because I wanted to.” 

“I understand,” Riley said, although he didn’t really. It didn’t matter, but Chase was too out of it to know that. “I understand you didn’t want to do it. It’s okay. Just relax and get better. We’ll talk about everything, I promise.” 

Chase’s eyes lit up with something more than fever. It was hope. “You promise?” 

“Yes.” Riley nodded and kissed the back of Chase’s hand. “Just rest. We’ll talk about everything later, when you’re better.” 

Chase relaxed at Riley’s words and slipped back into an uneasy, fevered sleep. Any time the nurses tried to get Riley to leave Chase would wake and prove that he was far better off with Riley nearby. 

Riley had fallen asleep with his head propped up on his arm, his hand still wrapped around Chase’s. When he woke he woke to the sound of voices. 

“Your fever is down.” The doctor, Dr. Roman was telling a very awake Chase. Riley sat up, running his hand over his cheek to brush away a line of drool that had dripped form his mouth. 

“Nice of you to join us,” Chase smiled as brightly as someone suffering from blood loss and recovering from an infection could. He sounded weak, but Chase looked alive and that was all that mattered to Riley. “The doc here was telling me how I was doing.” 

Riley looked at the doctor expectantly and the man smiled, looking far more rested than he had the day before. 

“Mr. Randall is doing good. We’ve finished the blood transfusion and his fever is down. The round of antibiotics we have him seem to be taking care of the infection he was fighting during the early morning. We’re still monitoring him closely, but if he continues to progress this way he may be released within the next few days.” 

“Doc was just telling me that I’m going to need someone to look after me for a bit.” Chase said softly. 

“You can stay with me.” Riley offered immediately. 

Chase smiled gratefully and looked up at the doctor again. “He can stay here with me for a while, right? Even though I’m not, uh, going crazy anymore?” 

“Yes, he can stick around.” The doctor grinned at them. “Anything to keep you on the mend.” Dr. Roman turned to Riley. “Just make sure you let Mr. Randall get plenty of sleep or he’ll extend his stay.” 

“Nobody wants that.” Chase said honestly. 

The doctor chuckled. “I’ll have the nurses bring you something to eat and we’ll see how you handle that.” And with a nod to Riley left the room and the two young men behind. 

Riley turned his attention back to Chase and noted the positive changes. Chase no longer looked sweat-drenched and although still pale, had more color than the last time Riley looked at him. 

“The doc told me I basically begged them to let you stay here with me.” Chase said with a shy blush. “I’m sorry.” 

“I’m not.” Riley smiled and moved to sit on the side of Chase’s bed so they could be closer. “I want to be here with you.” 

Chase’s smile faded and he looked down. “Riley, I said a lot of things when that thing was messing with my head.” 

“I know.” Riley sighed. “I said a lot of things too and I don’t even have that excuse. Will you forgive me?” 

Chase looked up and his eyes widened. “Yes, but, first you need to know something.” A look of pure guilt spread across Chase’s face and Riley knew he was about to learn the truth behind Chase’s obscured words spoken under the influence of fever. 

“Chase,” Riley was almost tempted to tell Chase it was fine and he didn’t need to explain, but Riley knew how a secret could eat someone alive. “Alright, I’m ready to listen.” 

“On the ship it was as if whatever was causing the pressure in my head calmed down a bit.” Chase started to explain. “I could think clearer, but I knew it wasn’t going to last long.” 

Riley nodded, remembering how Chase had clenched his head just before he was taken away. 

“I realized I could think and I didn’t want Heckyl to know that,” Chase said quickly, but paused to swallow thickly. “I pretended he won.” He told Riley stiffly, unable to meet Riley’s eyes. “I pledged myself to him. He gave me free range of the ship and told me to hide until his other half was done playing. I managed to lose my guard and tracked down the device.” 

Riley tried to picture everything in his head. He had an idea that it was a lot harder than Chase was making it sound, but decided not to call Chase on it. 

“I did what you told me to do,” Chase said quietly. “I did the opposite of what I thought I should do. It worked, for a while, until I got to the room. The pull of the device was so strong, I couldn’t fight it, but then I remembered you.” 

“Me?” Riley rasped. 

“You.” Chase took in a sharp breath. “I thought about you and I fought. I know I wouldn’t have been able to even move if it weren’t for you, Riley. I barely could get my hands on the device, but I dropped it and it helped break up the connection. When I could think clearer again I managed to cut some wires, but I realized I couldn’t destroy the machine. I knew if I didn’t play along that I would never make it off the ship alive.” 

Riley nodded, everything made sense so far. “So you played along.” 

“Fury found me and dragged me back to Heckyl saying I wasn’t worth the risk.” Chase smirked a little. It looked slightly pained. “I talked my way out of it, but,” the sort-of-smile vanished, replaced by a purely anguished look that worried Riley. “Riley.” 

“Whatever happened, it’s okay.” Riley said before he could really think about it. He worried about whatever it was that Heckyl had forced Chase to do that he was so broken up over it. “You were just trying to survive.” 

“I kissed him.” Chase spoke the words like they were the hardest words he had ever formed. “I cheated on you.” 

Riley stared at Chase and dropped Chase’s hand. The words echoed in Riley’s head and his mind conjured up the images. Chase had kissed the enemy. 

“I didn’t want to,” Chase panicked when Riley said nothing. “I only did it because he was about to kill me and I needed to prove I was loyal. I told him I wanted to get my Energem back and he told me to go with Fury and raid the lab. I said our base was out in the woods so no one would get hurt. I just wanted to see you again, I knew you’d come for me. Riley, I’m so sorry.” 

Riley swallowed thickly and finally managed to look at Chase. He was pale and shaken and the confession was obviously not doing anything to help his recovery. 

“You didn’t cheat on me.” Riley said carefully, reaching out gently and cupping Chase’s face in his hands. “You only kissed him to survive.” 

“Yes, it didn’t mean a thing.” Chase agreed, a tear escaped the corner of his right eye. “I just wanted to see you again. I would have done anything to see you again. I wasn’t ready to die yet.” 

“You’re safe now,” Riley told Chase. “We got that thing out of your head and they can’t control you anymore.” Riley smiled and revealed Chase’s Energem in his hand. “And I brought this.” 

Chase’s eyes grew and he gently took the crystal from Riley’s hand. 

“I think Ivan was right,” Riley said as Chase stared at the Energem. “I think it gave you the edge you needed to battle that infection. I was worried, Chase, really worried when I saw you last night.” 

“Thank you,” Chase said as he held his Energem a little tighter. “I felt kind of lost without this. I’m glad Heckyl didn’t get his hands on it.” 

“Me too.” Riley breathed. They had dodged a bullet, metaphorically speaking. Riley winced and glanced at the thick white bandages wrapped around Chase’s side. “Hopefully the Energem will help you heal faster.” 

“Yeah,” Chase nodded, he sagged and Riley noted that Chase probably needed more rest. “You’ll stay?” 

“They couldn’t pull me away if they tried.” Riley smiled at Chase, even as the black ranger’s eyes fluttered shut. Although Chase had drifted to sleep, Riley saw he still held the Energem tightly in his hand. 

“Heckyl.” Riley breathed. Never in his life would Riley have guessed that his boyfriend would kiss Heckyl. Riley accepted that Chase truly had not wanted to kiss their enemy, but it was more difficult than Riley wanted it to be. They’d talk, Riley decided, when Chase was better they would sit down and talk about everything.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final Chapter! Thanks for reading!

In the end it took three days for the doctor’s to agree to discharge Chase from the hospital. Chase had slept most of the time and Riley had to return to work, which was unpleasant for both of them. 

The Dino Bite was the first place they took Chase after his release. A banner was hanging and balloons and streamers littered the place. Chase grinned at it all, but still tired quickly and sat down and retold the tale of his escape to his friends. 

“Ew, you kissed Heckyl?” Shelby twisted up her nose in disgust. 

“At the time it seemed like the best play I had.” Chase winced and glanced at Riley, who grinned suddenly. 

“It is a rather successful power move.” Riley told the group smugly. 

Tyler looked from Chase to Riley and shrugged. “Then what happened?” 

Chase continued his story animatedly and Riley smiled lightly at how alive his boyfriend looked and how grateful he was that Chase seemed to be on the mend. The doctor’s were dumbfounded about Chase’s recovery, which was both good and bad. Dr. Roman wanted Chase to come back for regular check ups but Chase had already confided that he never planned to return to the hospital. The doctors seemed a little to interested in Chase’s rapid healing ability and took way too much blood without actually saying what kind of tests they were for. 

It was probably for the best, although Riley was worried that Chase might need the doctor’s to insure that he continued to heal properly. 

Hopefully the Energem would help Chase heal if Chase didn’t return to the doctors. 

“And that’s when you guys showed up.” Chase said to the enthralled group around him. 

“I’m just glad you survived.” Tyler breathed. “Sledge’s ship wasn’t exactly the easiest place to navigate.” 

Chase nodded. “Tell me about it.” 

“It was rather dark and grungy.” Kendall said. “But you’re back now and that’s all that matters. I want to check that wound before you and Riley leave. If you aren’t going to go see an actual doctor you’re going to have to deal with me.” 

“Yes ma’am.” Chase said with a solute. 

__

After the party was over and Kendall had taken a look at Chase’s rapidly healing wound, Riley and Chase hitched a ride to Riley’s apartment in Tyler’s jeep. 

By the time they got there Chase was exhausted and needed Tyler’s and Riley’s help up to the second floor. Tyler settled Chase on the couch and told them they could call him if they needed anything. 

Once alone with Chase, Riley felt his heart stumble a bit in his chest. It was time that he talked to Chase. It was time to tell the truth and let Chase know about his insecurities. 

“We’re going to have that talk now,” Chase said before Riley could sync up his mouth to his brain. A small smile ghosted Riley’s lips as he nodded and joined Chase on the couch. 

“I want to go over our fight.” Riley said and looked Chase in the eyes. “I didn’t want to tell you about it because I knew I had messed up. I said those words without thinking and all I wanted to do was take them back. I let my pride stand in the way of my heart. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” 

“I don’t remember,” Chase said unnecessarily, “but I’m having a hard time believing it was all on you. Marissa said that she thought I was flirting with her and she asked me out. She said she saw you leave and me go after you.” 

With a sigh Riley nodded. “I’ve always been a little jealous. You get a lot of attention and you thrive under that attention. I guess I’m just worried that you might decide my attention isn’t good enough for you. I guess it’s selfish to want you all to myself.” 

“I would never cheat on you.” Chase shook his head, emotion thick in his words. “Yes, I like attention, but the only person I love it from is you. I’m sorry if I make you feel unimportant, because that’s so far from the truth. You are the most important thing in the world to me, other than my family.” 

“I know that.” Riley said and Chase looked like the wind had been knocked out of him for some reason. 

“Heckyl was a mistake.” Chase added quickly. “I would never cheat on you because I love only you. I know you don’t trust me and maybe there’s nothing I can do to change that, but I wish you could believe me.” 

“I do,” Riley tried, but hesitated. “It’s just that I’m so insecure when it comes to our relationship. You’re so charming and gorgeous and I’m just, well, me. A nerd that is very afraid of my emotions. I’m logical by nature, Chase and logically speaking we don’t make sense. You’re so far out of my league.” 

Chase stared at Riley and then laughed, a smile spreading across his still pale face. “Riley, you are the one way out of my league. I’m not even playing the same game as you. You’re beautiful and smart and I am just this pathetic skateboarder freak who has a death wish and knows how to smile through.” 

“What?” Riley blinked. 

“I’m insecure too, Riley.” Chase explained with an easy smile. “The biggest thing I’m hearing is that we both love each other. That’s what matters, doesn’t it? We can work out the other stuff as long as we talk to one another. Communicate. I’ll do my best to change if that’s what you want, I’ll do what I can to show you that we belong together. Just let me know what you need me to change.” 

“Nothing.” Riley said easily and pulled Chase closer. “When you were under the device’s control I was so afraid I’d never see your smile again. I thought I had lost you. Chase, I don’t want you to change. I fell in love with you because you are passionate and full of life. I never want that to change. Smile, flirt, just please let me know if you need to move on. It would be hard, but I would let you go.” 

“You don’t need to let me go.” Chase shook his head. “I’ve been searching my whole life for you, Riley. You’re all I want.” 

Riley smiled and although there was a tug at his heart from his brain that told him it would never last, Riley decided to shut that voice of logic out. Logic didn’t always fit in with the matters of the heart. 

“I love you, Chase Randall.” Riley said and brushed his forehead against his boyfriend’s. 

“And I you, Riley Griffin.” Chase whispered back. Their lips met and for the moment Riley decided not to overthink things. They were together. Chase was alive. 

Life was good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fin

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
